
tesAl^^ 



y- 



BookJtof, 



SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT 



Wisconsin Geological and Natural History sur,vey 

E. A. BIRGE, Director. W. O. HOTCHKISS, State Geologist. 

BULLETIN NO. XXIII. ECONOMIC SERIES NO. 14 



RECONNOISSANCE 

SOIL SURVEY 

01' . 

PART OF 

NORTH WESTERN WISCONSIN 



BY 

SAMUEL WEIDMAN I S- 7 ^ 

// 

ASSISTED BY 

E. B. HALL AND F. L. MUSBACK 



< 



507229 



MADISON, WIS. 

PUBLISHED BY THE STATE 

1911 






\Al5\Al4 
OEGANIZATION OF SITKYEY. ' 



BOARD OF COITIITIISSIOAEKS 

i^RANCIS E. McGOVERN, 

Governor of the State. 

CHARLES R. VAN HISE, President. 

President of the University of Wisconsin. 

CHARLES P. GARY, Vice President. 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction. 
JABE ALFORD, 

President of the Commissioners of Fisheries. 
SAMUEL F. PLANTZ, Secretary. 

President of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 



STAFF OF THE SUKVLTf 

ADMINISTRATION: 

Edward A. Birge, Director and Superintendent. In immediate 

charge of Natural History Division. 
William O. Hotchkiss, State Geologist. In immediate charge of 

Geology. _ 

F. G. Sanford, Clerk. 
GEOLOGY DIVISION: 

T. C. Chamberlin, Consulting Geologist, Pleistocene Geology. 
William O. Hotchkiss. In charge, Geology. 
Samuel Weidman. In charge, Areal Geology. 
Frederik T. Thwaites. Assistant, Geology. 
R. H. Whitbeck. Assistant, Physical Geography. 
E. B. Hall, Assistant, Geology. 
Charles L. Dake. Assistant, Geology. 
Hyruivi Sciirs'EiDER. Assistant, Geology. 
WATER POWER DIVISION: 

Leonard S. Smith. In charge. 
NATURAL HISTORY DIVISION: 
Edward A. Birge. In charge. 
Chancey Juday. Lake Survey. 
George Wagner. Report on Fish. 
L. G. Lytle. Assistant, Lake Survey. 
E. H. TooLE. Assistant, Lake Survey. 
DIVISION OF SOILS: 

Andrew R. Whitson. In charge. 

P. L. MusBACK. Field Assistant and Analyst. 

Guy Conrey. Analyst. 

E. J. Gkaul. Analyst and Field Assistant. 

A. H. Meyer. Field Assistant and Analyst. 

L. R. Sohoenmann. Field Assistant and Analyst. 

T. J. Dunnnewald. Field Assistant and Analyst.' 

O. I. Bergii. Field Assistant. 

C. A. LeClair. Assistant. 






TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Table of Contents iii 

Illusteations vi 

Preface '. vii 

Chapter I. General Description of the Area 1-22 

Slope and general features 1 

Geology 3 

Crystalline rocks 3 

Sandstone 4 

Limestone 4 

Glacial drift 5 

Alluvial deposits 6 

Loess 7 

Geography 7 

Hills 8 

Terminal moraine 8 

Rivers and valleys 9 

Falls and rapias 11 

Lakes 11 

Rock and mineral supplies 12 

' Water supplies 13 

Character of well water 14 

Wells in alluvial sand 14 

Wells in limestone 15 

Wells in crystalline rock. . . .• 16 

Artesian wells 16 

Origin of flowing wells 17 

Springs 17 

Pollution of wells and springs 18 

Water powers 20 

Altitudes of North Western Wisconsin 21 



iv CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Chapter II. Climate 23-33 

Temperature 23 

Tables of temperature 25 

Precipitation 26 

Tables 

for Grantsburg 26 

~ Osceola 26 

Downing 27 

Barron 27 

Red Wing 28 

Eau Claire 28 

Frosts 32 

Chapter III. Description oe the Soils 34-87 

Character and origin of soil 34 

Soil erosion 34 

Sources of the soil 35 

Soil classification 35 

Chemical composition of soil 36 

Baldwin loams 37 

Colby silt loam 43 

Kennan silt loam 45 

Chelsea loams 48 

Milltown loam 51 

Thornapple sandy loam 53 

Cushing loams 55 

Rice Lake loam 58 

Chetek sandy loam 62 

Meridean sandy loam 65 

Sterling sand 67 

Management of sandy soils 71 

Hartland silt loam -. 73 

Auburn loams '78 

Peat and muck 81 

Drainage of mar'sh land 83 

Chapter IV. Agriculture 88-97 

Historical 88 

First settlements 88 

Early transportation 89 

Population 89 

Nativity of population 90 



CONTENTii. V 

£!ha^ter IV — continued. page 

-Agricultural development 90 

Cultivated and uncultivated lands 91 

Farm buildings 91 

Price cf farm lands 91 

Crops 92 

Dairying 94 

Live stock 96 

Transportation 96 

Markets 96 

Forest conditions 97 

-Appendix. Coerelatiox of Soils of North Western Wiscon- 
sin AND of North Central Wisconsin 98-100 

Index 101-104 



ILLUSTKATIONS 



PLATES 

PLATE. PAGE. 

I. Soil map of North We>tern Wisconsin In pocket 

II. (Jeological map of the North Western Area 3 

III. Fig. 1. Section of Glacial Drift soil 6 

Fig. 2. Section of Loess 6 

IV. Fig. 1. Young valleys 9 

Fig. 2. Same valleys in a later si age 9' 

V. Fig. 1. Developed w^ater power on (Jhippewa River 11 

Fig. 2. Undeveloped water power on Chippewa River 11 

VI. View of Colby silt loan north of Cadott 44 

Vll. View of ('olby silt loan southwest of Rice Lake 44 

YIII. View of Chelsean loam 48 

IX. View of jMilltowu loam 51 

X. Fig. 1. Tobacco field on Rice l>ake loam " 58 

Fig. 2. Section of Rice Lake loam 58 

XL View of Chetek sandy loam 63 

XIL View of Hartland silt loam, Pierce Co 73 

Xlil. Fig. 1. Section of Auburn loam 75> 

Fig. 2. Section of Hartland silt loam 75 

XIV. View of Hartland silt loam, Dunn Co 7(5 

XV. View of Auburn loam, Eau Claire Co 79 

FIGURES IN TEXT. 

FIGURE page: 

1. Map showing North Western and North Central Areas 2 

2. Section showing geological formations 3 

3. Diagrammatic section showing thin drift over rock 5 

4. Diagrammatic section showing thin drift over rock 6 

5. Section showing terraces in Chippewa Valley 7 

6. Diagram illustrating relation of groundwater to stream 13 

7. Section of an artesian basin 17 

8. Section of an artesian slope 17 

9. A seepage spring 18 

10. A fissure spring 18 

11. Diagram showing safe and unsafe wells 19 

12. Diagram showing monthly precipitation at Eau Claire and 
Osceola 30 

14. Map showing dates of last killing frosts in Spring 31 

15. Map snowing dates of first killing frosts in Autumn 33 

16. Soil map of northeastern Rusk County 46 



PREFACE. 



The following general reconnoissance soil survey of nine 
■counties in the northwestern part of Wisconsin is presented in 
response to numeroos requests for information concerning the 
character of the soils and agriculture of the northern part of 
the state. This report is the result of a survey of the geologi- 
cal formations of the area combined with a special study of 
the principal types of soil developed upon these formations. 
The various surface formations of glacial drift, loess, and al- 
luvial deposits, and the indurated formations of granite, sand- 
stone, and limestone have characteristic soil types developed 
upon them, and these various soil types are described with 
respect to area, surface features, forest growth, character of 
the soils and their agricultural development. 

Chapter I, a general description of the geology and geog- 
raphy of the area, and Chapter III, the description of the 
?oils and their agrieaiture, are based almost entirely on or- 
iginal investigations; while Chapter II, on climate, and Chap- 
ter IV, on the general agricultural development in the area 
are mainly compiled from varjous sources, as indicated. 

Some of the counties in the northern part of the area are 
still largely unopened to agriculture, while others, in the 
southern part, are fairly well eettled. Large portions of the 
area, as described in following pages, are covered with hard- 
wood forests, possess excellent soils, and are rich in agricul- 
tural possibilities. Some parts of the area also are character- 
ized by soils of inferior quality. It is the purpose of this 
general report to point out the general character of the soils 
and the climatic and general agricultural conditions through- 
out the area, with the hope that the information given and the 



VIU 



PREFACE. 



suggestions offered will be of value not only to home seekers^ 
but also to those now engaged in agriculture in the district. 

Since the soil sur^/ey of this area was begun, provision has. 
been made for a complete and more detailed soil survey of the 
entire state, and this work, now in progress in other parts of 
the state, is being executed by the Slate Survey in coopera- 
tion with the Bureau of Soils of the U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture. It is the general intention under the present plans 
of the soil survey, that the soils of the thickly settled counties, 
of this area v/ill be given a detailed study at some future 
time, probably as soon as the surveys of the counties of the 
southern part of the state are completed. In the meantime 
the reconnoissance soil survey of this area is presented, the 
authors being fully aware of its incompleteness, with the hope 
that it will prove to be useful to the many interested in the 
agricultural development of this part of the state, and that the 
general study of the soils described will serve as a basis for a 
more detailed survey of this district at some later date. 

I have been assisted in the preparation of this report by 
E. B. Hall and F. L. Musback. Mr. Hall, of the Geological Sur- 
vey, mainly assisted in the preparation of the soil map, and 
Mr. Musback, of the Soil Survey, assisted in the collection of 
soil samples and agricultural data. 

The State Survey is indebteded to the U. S. Bureau of Soils 
for kindly furnishing the mechanical analyses of soils in this 
report; the authors are indebted to Dr. E. A. Birge, Director 
of the "Wisconsin Survey, for the many courtesies shown in 
the preparation of this work, to Prof. A. R. Whitson, in charge 
of the Soil Survey, for suggestions and criticism, and to Dr. 
J. C. Elsom for the several photographic views presented. 

S. Weidman. 

July, 1911. 



EECONNOISSANCE SOIL SURVEY OF 
NORTH WESTERN WISCONSIN. 



CHAPTER I. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 

The area described in the present report is in the northwestern 
part of the state, as shown on the map of Wisconsin, fig. 1. 
Four of the counties border on the state of Minnesota on the 
west. It is approximately between the parallels 44° 30' and 
45° 45' north latitude, and the meridians 91° and 93° west 
longitude, which is the same latitude as central Maine on the 
Atlantic coast, and northern Oregon on the Pacific, and the 
same longitude as central Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri in 
the Mississippi valley. 

The area includes the counties of Eau Claire, Chippewa, Eusk, 
Barron, Dunn, Pepin, Pierce, St. Croix, and Polk. These nine 
counties contain 186; townships and have a total area of 6,705 
square miles, approximately one-eighth of the state. 

Slope and General Features. The area slopes down towards 
the southwest. The lowest land, 680 feet above sea level, is in the 
southwest corner of the area at the junction of the Chippewa and 
Mississippi rivers. The highest land is undetermined but is 
very probably the hard quartzite ridges of eastern Barron and 
western Rusk counties. Several of these ridges reach elevations 
of 1,500 to 1,600 feet above sea level, the lower land surround- 
ing these highest ridges in the northern part of the area in 
general, having a varying altitude between 1,100 to 1,300 feet. 

The western part of the area, Pierce and St. Croix counties, 
are, mainly limestone uplands, in which the valleys are relatively 



2 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



deep and narrow. A large part of Polk and Rusk counties 
is a nearly level plain, with broad shallow valleys. 




NORTH CENTRAL AREA 



NORTH WESTERN AREA 



Fig. 1. — Map showing the location of the North Western and North Central 

Wisconsin areas. 

The principal topographic feature of the area is the relatively 
level or gently sloping surface of the land. Like other parts 
of the Mississippi valley it is an undulating plain into which 
■salleys have heeii cut by the rivers and streams. 

Upon the broad uplands of much of the area also are exten- 
sive deposits of glacial drift which in many places still retain 
the general forms left by the great ice sheets that have invaded 
this region. The beautiful lakes in the region are also intimately 
related in origin to the glacial deposits. Besides the glacial 
deposits there are extensive Avind deposits of loess over large 
portions of the uplands of the area. In many of the valleys 



Wisconsin Sbevey. 



Bdlletin XXIII, PL. II. 




Sar)as^a/?e 



ti/./^rre-y/'affe 



GEOLOGICAL JfAr OP THE NORTHWESTERN .\REA. 



GENERAL DE,^CRIPTION OF THE AREA. I] 

are thick deposits of loose sand and gravel which assume the 
forms of terraces. 

Geology. 

The formations of the area may be grouped into two divisions 
and six sub-divisions, as follows : 
Indurated Formations : 

1. Crystalline rocks. 

2. Sandstone. 

3. Limestone. 
Surface Formations: 

4. Glacial drift. 

5. Alluvial or river deposits. 

6. Loess. 

A generalized map showing the indurated or bed-rock for- 
mations is presented in Plate II. A cross section showing the 
relations of the formations is shown in figure 2. 

1. Crysialline Rocks. This group, mainly of Pre-Cambrian 
age, includes several kinds of rock, such as granite, quartzite and 
trap rock. The granite rocks which include light colored fc:cliists, 
gneiss and granite and dark colored coarse and fine grained 
diorites, are found mainly along the Chippewa river and its 
tributaries above Eau Claire. Many wells reach the granitic 
rocks in northern Chippewa and in Eusk counties. The cpart- 
zite forms the high hills and ridges in eastern Barron and in 
western Rusk counties. Flambeau Ridge is also quartzite. The 
trap-rocks (Keweenawan) occur in the vicinity north of Os- 
ceola and at St. Croix Falls and extend in a belt farther north- 
east across the central part of Polk county, to Clam Falls. 




Fig. 2. — Section showing geological formations. 

Origin of the Crystalline Bocks. Most of the crystalline rocks, 
such as the granite and trap rocks, are of igneous origin, and 
were brought to the surface from the interior in a heated molten 



4 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

condition. The quartzite, liowever, was originally a sandstone, 
and was metamorphosed into quartzite by the great heat devel- 
oped by the intrusive igneous rocks. None of the crystalline 
rocks contain fossils. 

3. Sandstone. The Potsdam sandstone (Middle Cambrian) 
formation is the prevailing surface rock in Eau Claire, south- 
ern and western Chippewa, southern Barron, "Dunn, and eastern 
Pepin counties.- It lies beneath the drift in parts of Rusk, 
northern Barron and Polk, and is exposed along the bottoms and 
side of the valleys. The Potsdam sandstone lies in horizontal 
beds upon the crystalline formations, a fact to be noted in all 
cases where the two formations are exposed together or where 
wells penetrate both. The sandstone is quite generally a soft 
friable stone. In many places, the formation contains beds of 
shale rock, and green-sand. The fine sandstone weathers into 
a sandy soil but where shale and green-sand occur, loams are 
developed. Where the sandstone is overlain with glacial drift, 
the soil has the loamy character of the drift covering. 

Origin of Sandstone. The sandstone is a form of sedimentary 
rock deposited in shallow water of the sea. Common fossils in 
the Potsdam, sandstone are the shells or casts of trilobites, a kind 
of Crustacea, and of small. brachiopods, a kind of bivalve. 

In Pierce and St. Croix counties, in the area of the limestone, 
is the thin formation of St. Peter sandstone (Ordovician). The 
St. Peter sandstone overlies the Lower Magnesian limestone and 
while it does not form many outcrops it has modified the soil 
conditions to a considerable extent in many places in these two 
counties. 

3. Limestone. The limestone, mainly the Lower Magnesian 
formation (upper Cambrian), forms the main bed rock in west- 
em Dunn and western Pepin counties, and over the entire area 
of Pierce and St. Croix counties. The limestone also forms the 
summits of many of the uplands in eastern Pepin and south- 
western Eau Claire. It extends as far north as southern Polk 
county where it is generally overlain, however, with thick drift, 
and is exposed only along the rivers. 

In western Pierce and southwestern St. Croix counties are 
numerous high uplands and ridges capped with Trenton lime- 
stone (Ordovician). The soils developed on the limestones are 
generally loams and consist of a modification of local limestone 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 



soil with the surface formations of glacial drift and loess that 
covers the general area of limestone in this district. 

Origin of the limestone. The limestone is a sedimentary rock, 
mainly of organic origin, heing formed generally from the ac- 
cumulation of lime-hearing shells and skeletons of sea organisms, 
more or less broken up into fragments by waves of shallow 
water. Common fossils in the Lower Magnesian limestone are 
the articulated invertebrates, both the straight and curved forms, 
and also abundant corals. The Trenton limestone often con- 
tains abundant fossil shells or casts of bivalves, Crustacea and 
coral. 

4. Glacial Drift. The glacial drift (Pleistocene) consists of 
a mixture of ground-up rock containing varying proportions of 
clay,, sand, gravel, and boulders PL III, fig. 1. The drift varies 
in thickness and was deposited upon the older bed rocks of the 
area by successive ice sheets that invaded this area and the ad- 
jacent portions of Wisconsin and northern United States. Be- 
tween the periods of glacial invasions long interglacial periods oc- 
curred, and hence there is considerable difference in the age of 
the several drift sheets that are found in the area. 




Fig. 



-Diagrammatic section sliowing thick drift over rock. 



There are some striking differences between the earlier and 
the later drift formations. Through the action of weathering 
processes, such as the work of frost, the seepage of ground- 
water, and the chemical alterations of rocks and minerals the 
earlier drifts have become more compact and consolidated and 
contain more clay and fewer boulders than the later drifts. 
Another important difference between the old and new drifts 
is in the surface or topographic features. The older deposits 
of drift have been sub.jected to a longer period of erosion than 
the later drift and for this reason the older drift has acquired 
long drainage slopes and prominent river valleys, while the 
newer drift subjected to a short period of erosion, is still char- 
acterized by belts of steep drift hills and ridges, bouldery 
''hogsback" ridges, swamps, and lakes. The soil condition of 



6 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

the old and new drifts, therefore, are unlike in several important 
respects. 




Fig. 4. — Diaggrammatic section showing thin drift over ttie underlying rock. 

• 

The old drift is abundant in southern Chippewa county and 
in a belt of considerable width extending from southern Bar- 
ron county southwest through eastern St. Croix and over most 
of Pierce county. AVhile the old drift also occurs over most 
of Dunn and Eau Claire counties and in western Chippewa and 
southeastern Barron counties it occurs only in relatively small, 
quantity and is not important from the standpoint of the soils. 

The area of the new drift is in the northeastern half of Chip- 
pewa county, the whole of Rusk, the ea.stern part and the north- 
western pari; of Barron, the whole of Polk and the northwestern 
half of St. Croix. The new drift area is characterized by ter- 
minal moraines, lakes, and swamps. 

5. Alluvial Deposits. The alluvial deposits made by the rivers 
of the area consist mainly of gravel and sand and form level 
tracts of variable width in the valleys. Some time during the 
past, lietween the periods of the formation of the earliest and 
the latest glacial deposits, there was a time of extensive valley 
filling in the area and adjacent parts of the state, presumably 
caused by a general depression of the land. The rivers and 
streams were unable to carry away the land wash brought down 
from the upland slopes and were forced to deposit large amounts 
of gravel and sand along their courses. In this manner, broad 
sand and gravelly plains were built up along the Mississippi, the 
Chippewa, the Red Cedar, the Eau Claire, and other rivers o^ 
the area. The alluvial plains cover large parts of Eau Claire, 
southern Chippewa, Barron, Dunn, and Pepin counties. Alluvial 
formations oecur in the other counties also but are not extensive. 

Alluvial Terraces. After filling its valley with waste for a 
time, a river may change its action and entrench its course in the 
built-up flood plain. The part of the plain remaining above the 
new valley floor is called a terrace, or alluvial terrace. 



Wisconsin Sukvey. 



Bulletin XXIII, Tl. III. 




Fig. 1. TYPICAL SECTION OF GLACIAL SOIL. 
Shows eighteen feet of glacial drift consisting of sand, clay and boulders, at Osceola, 

I'olk County. 




Fig. 2. TYPICAL SECTION OF LOESS SOIL. 
Section shows ten feet of loess, characteristic of the lower slopes of valleys, near Me- 

nomonie, Dunn County. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 7 

The Chippewa valley below Chippewa Falls is characterized by 
;i well defined system of five terraces which are especially well 
developed in the vicinity of Eau Claire. A cross section show- 
ing the terraces is illustrated in Figure 5. Well defined ter- 
races are also developed along the Mississippi river and also 
along the St. Croix and Red Cedar. 




Fig 5 — Section sho^Mug toiiaces lu the Cliippowi "S iUca b-'low F lu CI.iuo 

6. The Loess. The' loess consists of fine loam or isilt which 
overlies the bed rock and the glacial drift of considerable por- 
tions of the area. It is usually from one to five feet thick and 
is found mainly on the uplands and slopes and occasionally in 
the valley bottoms. A view of the loess is shown n PI. Ill, fig. 2. 
The counties in which the loess is an abundant surface formation 
are Eau Claire, Chippewa, Dunn, Pierce, and Pepin. The loess 
is mainly restricted to the areas occupied by the older drift 
formations and to that part of the area in eastern Pepin and 
western Eau Claire which is entirely free from drif L The loess 
very probably mainly owes its origin to the action of wind in 
recent geologic time, probably during the time of one of the 
later glacial stages. 

The loess is free from stone or any other rock material too 
large to be transported by wind action. It is essentially of 
uniform character and forms one of the most fertile soil types of 
the area. 

Geography. 

The various geographic forms of the land, the valleys, the 
hills and the plains are the results of the work of the rains and 
the rivers, the glaciers and the wind, acting throughout a long 
period of time. In some parts of this area the work of the 
glaciers and the wind is not important but in most parts of the 
area these influences were very important in shaping certain 
forms of the land. In all parts of the area, however, 'the work 
of the rain in its course down the land slopes, and of the rivers 



8 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

and streams flowing through the valleys, were of great import- 
ance in shaping the land features. 

Hills. The area contains but few hills that reach an elevation 
exceeding 200 or 300 feet above the adjacent valleys. The high- 
est hill in the area is Flambeau Ridge in northern Chippewa 
county, which reaches 400 to 500 feet above the adjacent valley 
of the Chippewa and Flambeau rivers. Other notable high hills 
are the ridges of quartzite trending northeast and southwest 
in eastern Barron and we-tern Rusk counties. In Polk county 
are ridges and broad uplands of trap rock trending in a north- 
east direction. Elk Mound is a prominent hill of sandstone 
capped with limestone in eastern Dunn county. Along the 
Lower Chippewa, the Red Cedar, the Mississippi and the St. 
Croix rivers there are steep mounds and valley slopes rising ab- 
ruptly to heights of 200 to 500 feet above the adjacent rivers. 

Origin of hills and ridges. — The hills a.nd ridges of the area 
were carved into their present reliefs by the erosive work of the 
rains and the streams. Two types or ages of hills and ridges 
may be distinguished in the area: One type was formed at an 
early geologic period out of the crystalline rocks, and the 
other type was formed at a much later period out of the sand- 
stone and limestone formations. Such ridges as Flambeau 
Ridge of northern Chippewa county and the high quartzite 
ridges of eastern Barron and western Rusk counties and the 
high ridges of Polk county were formed as hills before the age 
of the Potsdam sandstone. They were subsequently buried 
under the deposits of sandstone, and in the later period of 
denudation of the land Avere uncovered again by erosion. They 
are in reality fossil hills, like the Baraboo Ridges, and are the 
remnants of old Archean mountains, the oldest hills on the con- 
tinent. The other type of hills consisting of sandstone or lime- 
stone, like Elk Mound, and like Mt. Tom and Mt. Simon at Eau 
Claire, and other mounds in the western part of the area, were 
formed during the present period of erosion, contemporaneous 
with the denudation of the old crystalline hills. 

Terminal Moraine. — ^A prominent feature of the topography 
is the belt of boulder ridges and drift hills forming the terminal 
moraine of the latest ice sheet that invaded the region. This 
belt of terminal moraine consists of billowy hills associated with 
swamps and lakes, and has a usual width of 2 to 6 miles. These 



Wisconsin Survey. 



Bulletin XXI II, Pl. IA^ 



\ 






'~v 




1 ~? 






i 


'x 








K 


y 


1. . 


\ 


\y 




.,^ 


.-.sPT^ "^"^^te^? 


t«^** 


" 







Fig. 1. YOUNG VALLEYS. 




Fig. 2. SAME VALLEYS SHOWN IN FIG. 1, IN A LATER STAGE OF 
DEVELOPMENT. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 9 

undulating hills generally reach a height of 50 to 100 feet above 
the surrounding lower land. 

The terminal moraine of the Chippewa valley ice lobe extends 
from the vicinity five or six miles north of Stanley Avestward to 
Jim Falls on the Chippewa river, then turns to the north and 
passes through the west central part of Chippewa county and 
along the border of Rusk and Barron counties, crossing the 
northeast part of Barron county in the region of Red Cedar 
lake. From the vicinity of Haugen there is another belt of 
moraine, formed by the St. Croix valley ice lobe, lying across 
the northwestern part of the area and extending through the 
vicinity of Cumberland, Turtle Lake, Clear Lake, New Rich- 
mond, Chapmans and Glover. The topography of terminal 
moraine is illustrated in Plate VIII. 

Origin of the Terminal Moraines. — The terminal moraines 
are the thickened belts of drift accumulated at the margin of 
the ice sheets, where the ice margins remained essentially con- 
stant for a considerable time. A large amount of drift material 
gathered hj the ice in the advance is dropped at the edge of the 
ice on account of the wastage of the ice by melting. 

Bivers and Valleys. — The Chippewa river is the largest river, 
and, with its tributaries, drains about two-thirds of the area. 
Its principal tributaries flowing from the east are the Eau 
Claire, Yellow, Jump, Flambeau and Thornapple. On the west 
side of the Chij)pewa the main tributaries are the Eau Galle and 
Red Cedar. North of Chippewa Falls the Chippewa river has 
a broad shallow valley, but to the south the river has a deep 
valley bottom bounded on both sides by abrupt uplands rising 
from 100 to 200 feet or more above the sandy river bottoms. A 
series of terraces occur along the valley bottom from the vicinity 
of Chippewa Falls down to the Mississippi. 

The Eau Claire river has a sandy valley bottom relatively 
narrow near its junction with the Chippewa but very wide in 
the eastern part of Eau Claire county. The Yellow river has a 
broad sandy plain below Cadott, but farther up stream the river 
winds among drift hills with no marked valley depression. The 
Jump and Flambeau rivers are not intrenched in prominent val- 
leys but have their courses in broad drift-covered, slightly un- 
dulating plains. 

The Red Cedar river drains about one-fourth of the area. 



10 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

In its lower course from Cedar Falls to its mouth, the river 
flows in a narrow rocky gorge. The upper part of the valley if? 
quite hroad and in striking contrast with the lower narrow por- 
tion. It is very prohahJe that the broad valley east of the river 
about Rusk prairie, was originally the main valley of the Red 
Cedar, and that the river lelow Cedar Falls is at present in a 
relatively new channel. The valley about Chetek, Cameron and 
Rice Lake is a broad plain from two to six miles wide. 

The Eau Galle river in the vicinity of Woodville and further 
north ha'3 a broad valley, but south of this it has a relatively 
deep A^alley from 100 to 200 feet deep with precipitous banks on 
either side. At Spring Valley the valley bottom is narrow, gen- 
erally less than one-half mile wide, but farther south it gradu- 
ally widens, being about a mile wide below Eau Galle where it 
opens out into the valley of the Chippewa. 

The Mississippi and the St. Croix rivers form the western 
boundary of the area. The Mississippi river has a prominent 
valley bounded by steep escarpments rising abruptly from 200 
to -500 feet above the river. The principal tributaries flowing 
into the Mississippi are the Rush river, Ifrabel creek, Trimbello 
river, and Big river. All these tributaries have deep promi- 
nent gorges in their lower courses. The valley of the Rush is 
prominent as far north as Martell. 

The St. Croix river lies in a relatively deep valley through- 
out its course in this area. The valley is especially prominent 
and picturesque at St. Croix Falls and south as far as Still- 
water. South of St. Croix Falls at the Delles of the St. Croix, 
the banks of the river rise abruptly to heights of 150 to 200 
feet. From Stillwater to Prescott the river broadens out into 
Lake St. Croix. 

The principal tributaries of the St. Croix in this area are 
the Kinnikinnic, "Willow, and Apple rivers. The Kinnickinnie 
beloM^ River Falls has a deep and narrow valley with precipitous 
banks. The Willow beloAV Burkhardt is prominent. The val- 
ley of the Apple is fairly prominent below Somerset, and espe- 
cially prominent below Big Falls only a short distance from the 
St. Croix. 

Origin of the Rivers and Valleys. — The valleys were carved 
out of the surface of the land by the erosion of the rivers and 
streams that flow through them. Rivers and valleys therefore 



Wisconsin Suevet. 



Bulletin XXIII, Pl. V. 




Fig. 1. DEVELOPED WATER POWER ON THE CHIPPEWA RIVER AT 

EAU CLAIRE. 




Fig. 2. UNDEVELOPED WATER POWER ON THE CHIPPEWA RIVER AT 
BRUNETTE PALLS. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. H 

are so closely connected in life history that they can best be 
described together. 

The rains that fall upon the land surface flows off; the slope 
and tends to gather into rills and to wash out gullies as illus- 
trated upon every hillside after any considerahle shower. The 
gullies grow into ravines, and the ravines grow into valleys by 
the simple work of running Avater. By constant erosion the 
'valleys lengthen and broaden out and the inter-valley areas be- 
come narrower and narrower, as illustrated in the figures of 
Plate IV. 

Rivers and streams work untiring throughout their courses. 
The more rivers are studied the more wonderful their place in 
nature is found to be. They wash along in every part of their 
course the waste of the land on the way to the sea. 

Falls and Rapids. — Falls and rapids are conmion features of 
the rivers of this area. These are usually developed in the 
valleys where the streams cross from a more resistant rock to a 
less resistant one. In the course of time, however, the streams 
\W11 succeed in cutting dow^n these harder rocks of the rapids to 
grade with the stream above and below. Rapids and falls, 
therefore, belong to the youthful stage of a valley history rather 
than to that of old age. AA^aterfalls and rapids are an import- 
ant natural resource of the area and many of them have already 
become sites for the development of valuable water power. The 
location of nearly all the large cities and villages of the area 
has been determined by the presence of rapids. The cities of 
Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, ^Menomonie, Rice Lake, River Falls, 
New Richmond, Ladysmith, Barron, Cumberland, St. Croix 
I'alls and many small villages are located on river rapids. Ex- 
amples of river rapids and developed power on the Chippewa 
river are illustrated in Plate V. 

Lakes. — The districts containing lakes and swamps lie in the 
northeastern and in the northwestern parts of the area, as may 
be seen on the map, Plate I. In the northwestern part of Chip- 
pewa and southwestern Rusk counties, the most prominent lakes 
are Long lake, Island lake, and Potatoe lake. In Barron 
county are Chetek, Prairie, Pokegema, Rice, Red Cedar, Bear, 
Beaver Dam, and Big Horse Shoe lakes. The most prominent 
lake in St. Croix county is Bass lake. In Polk county there 



12 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

are many lakes, the largest being Cedar lake, Sucker lake. Round 
lake, Balsam lake, and Bone lake. 

Lake Pepin, an enlargement of the Mississippi river and Lake 
St. Croix, a similar enlargement of the St. Croix river are promi - 
nent lakes on the western border of the area. 

Ongin of the Lakes. — ^^The existence of any hollow which is 
capaible of holding wat;er may give rise to a lake and hence many 
of the sags and depressions in the terminal moraines are occu- 
pied by lakes and ponds. Many lakes in this area also are due 
to the depressions of drift in pre-existing valleys. Such elon- 
gated lakes as Red Cedar, Bear, Beaver Dam, Bone lake and 
Sucker lake were formed by the blocking of valleys by the drift. 

Another type of lake is formed in the abandoned meander'^; 
of the large rivers, such as the Chippewa and St. Croix. Lake 
Hallie, north of Eau Claire, is an example of this type. 

The life history of lakes is transitory as compared with that 
of rivers. The lakes of the area are comparatively recent in 
origin and do not date back beyond the formation of the last 
two drift sheets. The Usually recognized processes operating 
to destroy lakes are three : the down-cutting of the outlet, 
thereby draining the lake ; the filling of the lake by detritus 
eroded from the lake shore or brought in by streams ; and the 
accumulation of organic matter, both vegetable and animal, such 
as peat and marl, formed in the lake itself. 

Rock and Mineral Supplies. 

The rock formations of the area furnish, material for various 
useful purposes. The crystalline rocks, occurring as boulders 
in the glacial drift, or in the uolid rock ledges are used to a 
variable extent as crushed stone for road material. The Pots- 
dam sandstone furnishes good building stone in many localities. 
The important sandstone quarries at Colfax and Dunnville sup- 
ply large quantities of good building stone. The limestone is 
quarried for building stone for local uses in Pierce, Pepin and 
St. Croix counties. The limestone in the vicinity of Spring 
Valley is used as a flux in the Spring Valley Iron Furnace. 
It was also formerly burned for lime at various lime kilns in 
one area but this industry has been largely discontinued. 

Common brick clays occur abundantly throughout the area. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 



13 



An important brick industry is carried on in Menomonie and 
Tramway in Dunn county. The manufacture of brick is car- 
ried on also at Chippewa Falls, Stanley, Ladysmith, Barron, St. 
Croix Falls, Amery, Barronett, Spring Valley, River Falls, 
Durand and Ellsworth. At present drain tile is not manu- 
factured at any of these yards. Drain tile is made from the 
more plastic and finer-grained brick clays. Good drain tile 
could probably be made at several of the brick yards mentioned. 
Grocd road material is abundantly supplied in the drift cov- 
ered areas by the boulders and gravel in the drift. The trap 
rock ridges of Polk county, the granite ledges along the Chip- 
pewa river and tributaries in Eau Claire, Chippewa and Eusk 
counties are available sources for crushed rock for the con- 
struction of macadamized roads and streets. In the vicinity 
of Eau Claire the Potsdam shale is used quite extensively to 
improve the sandy roads. 

Water Supplies. 

The many streams and lakes of the area furnish an abundant 
supply of good water for stock. At most of the farm houses, 
however, wells are mainly relied upon to furnish water for 
domestic purposes. 



A. --_ 1 V~X J-.'-"l'S ". _"_ 

A'. ' : . .' I'rc'r --__:_ 



Fig. 6. — Diagram illustrating relations of groundwater to streams and wells. 
The dotted line A^i. represents the usual groundwater level which rises to 
A" A" in wet seasons and sinks to A' A' in dry seasons. 

Well water is found at various depths below the surface, de- 
pending mainly upon the general topography, the distance above 
the permanent stream levels, and the character of the under- 
lying rock formations. At certain depths below the surface 
all the pores and fissures in the rock are filled with ground 
water and it is into this water-filled portion of the ground that 
wells must be sunk in order to obtain an abundant and constant 
supply. The upper surface of the ground water, the ground 
water level, is usually very near the level of the permanently 
flowing streams and rivers of the area. The level of ground- 



14 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

water is not expictly horizontal but is slightly undulating in 
general conformity with the topography of the land surface. 
The relation of the ground water level to streams and wells is 
shown in the diagram, fig. 5. 

Some of the lake levels of the small lakes in northeastern St. 
Croix county, are somewhat unusual in being far above thy gen- 
eral level of the groundwater. Wells in the immediate vicinity 
of these lakes go down 50 to 100 feet below the lakes to reach the 
ground water level and obtain a permanent water supply. 

Changes in Groundivatcr Level. The level of groundwater 
ri&es and falls from season to season depending- upon the sea- 
sonal rainfall. It also changes locally from year to year, due to 
amount of annual rainfall. The ground water level is also 
appreciably lowered where considerable pumpage or flowage 
from wells takes place. 

Character of the Well Water. The well water within the area, 
is known in domeitic economy as "soft water" and "hard 
water." The soft waters are located within the general area of 
the sandstone and crystalline rocks in the northeastern and 
eastern parts of the area and the hard waters are mainly con- 
fined to the area of the limestone in the western part. One of the 
softest waters in the United States is the famous Chippewa 
Spring water of Chippewa Falls. A well known mineral water, 
is used extensively for bottling purposes, at the Bethania Min- 
eral Springs at Oceola. North of Osceola a few miles, is ..., 
flowing well, made in exploring for copper, which is unusually 
strongly mineralized. 

it is possible therefore, to find waters within the area, con- 
taining but slight traces up to large amounts of mineral mat- 
ter, though in general the well waters usually used for domestic 
purposes are only the ordinary phases of hard and soft waters. 
Much of the glacial drift of the northwestern part of the area 
in Polk and Barron counties contains much limestone material 
and hence the waters from these localities are also generally 
hard waters. 

Wells in the Alluvial Sands and Gravels. Abundant well 
water is readily obtained in the sandy and gravelly stretches 
along the rivers arid main streams of the area. Very generally 
the wells are sunk to the approximate level of the adjacent 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. ]5 

rivers. Along the Chippewa river south, of Chippewa Falls, the 
wells on the highest benches of the alluvial plains are from 50 
to 100 feet deep. In the broad sandy plains of eastern Eau 
Claire county and in northern Chippewa, in Rusk, Barron, and 
Polk counties, wells are usually shallow, only from 10 to 30 
feet deep. As a rule in order to secure good pure water the 
wells should obtain their supply more than 20 feet below the 
surface and where the groundwater stands less than 20 feet 
from the surface, drive wells or drilled wells should be made. 

Welh in the Glacial Drift. AVater is found at various depths 
in the sand and gravel of the glacial drift. The deepest wells 
in the drift, usually from 50 to 100 feet deep, are tliose in the 
hilly portions of the terminal moraines. On the more level 
areas of the drift the wells usually vary from 20 to 40 feet in 
djepth. "Where the drift overlies the crystalline rock, as in the 
northeast part of the area, abundant water is usually found 
within the drift, or at the contact with the underlying crystal- 
line formations. Yv'here the drift overlies limestone and sand- 
stone however, the wells usually have to penetrate the latter to a 
variable depth to the general level of the underground water. 

^¥€Us in the Potsdam tiandstone. Wherever the sandstone 
has a thickness of 10 to 20 feet or more and the land is gently 
sloping, it usually furnishes an ample supply of water. The 
wells in the sandstone ridges and u]3lands usually have to reach 
down to the level of the surrounding low lands along the run- 
ning streams to obtain a water supply. 

Wells in the Limedone. The wells in the limestone rock are 
mainly confined to Pepin, Pierce and St. Croix counties. In 
Pepin and Pierce, while the wells penetrate limestone, the wat- 
er supply is generally obtained from the underlying formation 
of Potsdam sandstone. In St. Croix, however, many wells ob- 
tain water from the Lower Magnesian limestone at depths of 
50 to 150 feet below the surface. Many wells in Pierce county 
on the limestone uplands are from 150 to 300 feet deep and ob- 
tain water from the underlying Potsdam sandstone. In some 
places in St. Croix county where the St. Peter sandstone con- 
tains a thin bed of shale at its base, a water supply is obtained 
where the wells reach these shale beds but do not penetrate 
through. 



16 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

Wells in The Crystalline Rocks. Wells that obtain their 
water supply from the crystalline rocks are mainly confined to 
northeastern Chippewa and Rusk counties and along the belt 
of trap Took in central Polk county. The wells in the trap 
rock in Polk are of varying degree of efficiency, and occasionally 
it is impossible to get a satisfactory supply from this formation. 
Where there is an overlying formation of drift or sandstone 
having a thickness of 10 to 20 feet which may serve as a catch- 
ment basin for water, a supply can be obtained by going down 
to the trap rock or a short distance into it. 

The crystalline rocks in northern Chippewa and Eusk coun- 
ties quite generally furnish a sufficient supply of water for 
domestic purposes. Where the overlying drift and sand is more 
than 15 or 20 feet thick, a supply can generally be obtained ait 
the contact with the crystallines or within a few feet into the 
latter formation. W^here the crystalline rock is massive and in 
solid formation, it is more difficult to obtain water than in the 
much fractured and fissured rock, for it is from the openings 
in the rocks that the water is obtained. 

In drilling wells in the crystalline rocks, the heavier drills 
should be used, those having a combined weight of bit and stem 
of 1200 to 1400 pounds. The light weight drills usually make 
too slow progress. The possible clogging of water passages in 
drilling crystalline rock should be taken into account. 

In the crystalline rocks most of the water is near the surface 
because of the larger proportion of rock opening near the sur- 
face, and hence, dug wells are often much more satisfactory 
than drilled wells. The dug wells being of larger diameter open 
up a larger number of veins and fissures and also have a larger 
storage capacity and on this account need, not be so deep as the 
drilled wells. 

Artesian Wells. Artesian flowing wells are obtained in the 
southwestern part of the area, on low ground along some of the 
rivers and streams. The sources of the flows are in the Potsdam 
sandstone and also in the alluvial formations in the valleys. 
The Artesian wells in Durand obtain their flows from depths of 
200 to 500 feet, the water rising 25 to 35 feet above the level of 
the Chippewa river at Durand. The flowing wells that furnish 
running water for the Fish Hatchery at Hudson have their 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 



17 



source in the alluvial sand and gravel of the Willow river and 
are only from 10 to 15 feet deep and rise only a foot or so 
above the general level of standing water. There are some 
flowing wells also near Arkansaw and in the vicinity of Osceola. 




Fig. 7. — Section of an artesian basin. A, Porous stratum ; B, G, impervious 
beds below and above A, acting as confining strata ; F, heigbt of water 
level in porous beds A, or, in other words, height in reservoir or fountain 
head ; B, E, flowing wells springing from the porous water-filled bed A. 

It is only on very low ground in Pepin, Pierce, St. Croix, and 
Polk counties that artesian flows are likely to be obtained. In 
the southeastern part of the area, artesian flows are not known 
at present, though they might be developed occassionally in 
small restricted areas in the glacial drift or in the alluvial de- 
posits. 

Origin of Flowing Wells. The water in wells that flow at the 
surface is under pressure. The essential condition for the ex- 
istence of a flowing well is a relatively porous stratum lying be- 
tween impervious strata, or below one ; the porous stratum which 
transmits the water having an outcrop or catchment area at a 
higher elevation than the water bearing stratum at the well. 
In this manner the water in the porous stratum is held under 
pressure and when penetrated by a well the water tends to rise 
up to the level of the intake. There are many qualifying con- 
ditions that effect the quantity of the flow or the pressure. 
Artesian systems of flowing wells are Illustrated in figures 7 
and 8. 




Fig. 8. — Section of an artesian slope. A and C are w.'^ter-bearing beds : B and 
D are relatively impervious beds acting as confining strata ; E, F and 6 
are flowing wells springing from the water-bearing beds. 



Springs. There are many large springs in the southwestern 
part of the area, along the lower Chippewa river, the St. Croix, 
and Mississippi, and the tributaries in Pierce county. The cop- 
ious springs at St. Croix Falls along the St. Croix are a well 
known feature of that locality. 



11 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN., 



Origin of Springs, A "spring" is properly applied to' the 
water emerging- from the ground at a single point or within a 
small restricted area. Seepage springs are springs in which 
the water ,seeps out of sand or gravel. Such springs are usually 
marked by abundant vegetation, and their waters often carry a 
scum due to the decomposition of vegetable matter or the pres- 
ence of iron. The scum is frequently mistaken for petroleum. 
Springs of this kind commonly occur along the sides or bottoms 
of valleys, as illustrated in figure 9. 




Fig. 9. — Spring fed from unconflned waters in porous sand. 



Fissure springs are those that issue along bedding, cleavage, 
or fault planes. The waters are deeper seated and are almost 
never subjected to contamination. The accompanying diagram, 
fig. 10 illustrates a typical fissure spring. The springs at Ilwaco 
on the St. Croix river are of this type. 




Fig. 10.- 



-Fissure spring. Waters spring from the underlying 
up through fissures in the limestone. 



porous sandstone 



The Pollution of Well and Spring Water. Farms, which are 
generally remote from towns and cities or other areas of con- 
gested population are especially favorably situated for obtain- 
ing pure and wholesome water. As a matter of fact, however, 
polluted water is exceedingly common on the farms, and typhoid 
fever, generally contracted from drinking water, is usually more 
prevalent in country'- districts than in cities. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 



19 



Many of the failures to protect water supplies used for drink- 
ing are due to a lack of knowledge of the manner in which wat- 
ers circulate through the ground and of the ways in which the 
groimd water may become polluted. The diagram, fig. 11 il- 




FiG. 11. — Diagram showing location of safe and unsafe wells and their relation 

to farm buildings. 



lustrates the location of safe and unsafe wells, and the general 
relation of these to the location of farm buildings and to the 
ground water level. 

Springs may also be contaminated, especially the seepage 
springs, if proper care is not taken in the location of buildings 
near the spring. Open or dug wells may be polluted by ma- 
terial seeping through the ground and curbing or entering from 
the top of the well. 

The distance from a source of pollution, such as cesspools and 
bamyardsj at which a surface or open well may be sunk with 
a fair degree of safety va-" 
ries with the formation 
but generally should never 
be less than 100 feet and 
often should be at least 
200 feet. The more open 
and porous the soil and 
the more rapid the move- 
ment of the ground water, _ 
the greater is the safety 
distance required. "Well 
waters that become mud- 
dy after rain storms indi- 
cate surface contamina- 
tion and should be avoided^!?- ^\ Diagram showing danger Of pollu- 

tion where easmg is carried only to rock. 




20 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

if possible. Wells should be protected from surface water by 
properly constructed curbing, stock should be kept away from 
the well, and protection from pump drippings, from small ani- 
mals, and dust should be ensured, as they are all possible 
sources of pollution. 

The water of deep wells are usually safe and hence many 
people go to the expense of drillitig for deep well water. Deep 
wells, may however become polluted by the entrance of sui-- 
face waters (See iig. 12) unless the casing is carried into the 
well a sufficient depth to shut off all surface water entering 
through fissures. 

Cisterns, which are especially valuable in supplying soft rain 
water or in furnishing supplementary supplies from wells, if 
properly constructed are safe sources of water supply. The 
disadvantage of cisterns is the liability of contamination by 
dust from the roof, and the liability to crack and admit shallow 
and possibly polluted waters. 

WATER POWERS. 5 

The water powers are a valuable natural resource of the area. 
A general survey of the water powers of the state has been made 
by L. S. Smith.'"' Much less than one-half of the available wat- 
er power in the area is now developed. On the Chippewa river 
extensive power is developed at Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, 
and on the Flambeau at Ladysmith. There are very many power 
sites still undeveloped on the Chippewa and Flambeau, among 
which may be mentioned the important sites at Jim Palls, 
Brunett Falls, and Holcombe on the Chippewa, and Burnt Is- 
land, Big Falls, and Cedar Rapids, on the Flambeau. 

Water powers have been developed on the Red Cedar at Men- 
omonie and Chetek, and on the tributaries of the Red Cedar at 
Rice Lake and Barron. The St. Croix river has many power 
sites in its upper course. At St. Croix Falls, is a 50 foot dam, 
having an estimated development of 27,000 II. P. at present 
only partially equipped, the power being conducted electrically 
to Minneapolis and St. Paul. There are no powers developed 
above St. Croix Falls but important sites are located at Nevers 



* Bulletin No. 20, Wis. Geol. & Nat. Hist. Survey, Madison, Wis. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 



21 



dam, at Kettle River rapids and farther north. Powers are 
developed on the Kinnieldnnic river at River Falls, on the Wil- 
low at Burkhardt and New Richmond, and on the Apple at Ap- 
ple River Falls, Somerset, and Huntington, the power developed 
on the Apple river, being conducted to Stillwater and Minne- 
apolis. , .... fi .. i.U,;*|^| 

ALTITUDES OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

Elevations above sea level, of many of the railroad stations 
within the area, some of which are also indicated on the soil 
map, are shown in the following table : 

Table I. — AltiUides of railroad stations. 



Station. 



Amer.v 

Augusta 

Baldwin 

Barron 

Bloomer 

Boyd 

Bruce 

Burkhardt 

Cadott 

Cameron 

Chetek 

Chippewa Falls, C. St. P. M. 
O. 



Chippewa Falls. W. C. R. R. 

Clear Lake 

Colfax 

Cumberland 

Dallas 

Durand 

Eau Claire, C. M. &St. P.... 
Eau Claire, C. St. P. M. & O. 

Elk Mound 

Ellsworth 

Fairchild 

Fall Creek 

Frederick 

Glen wood 



Altitude. 



1,070 

972 

1.136 

1,111 

1,012 

1,105 

1,098 

927 

977 

1,098 

1,053 

86R 

831 

1,198 

947 

1,241 

1,052 

725 

788 

841 

931 

1,068 

1.018 

939 

1,204 

1,026 



Station. 



Hammond 

Herse.T 

Holcombe 

Hudson 

Knaiop 

Ladysmith (on river above 

dam) 

Luck 

Maiden Rock 

Menomonle. C. St. P. M. & O.. 

Menomonie Junction 

New Auburn 

New Richmond. W. C. R. R. . . 

Osceola 

Pepin 

Prairie Farm 

Prescott 

Rice Lake 

Kidgeland 

River Falls 

Roberts 

St. Croix Falls 

Spi ing- Valley 

Stanley 

Stockholm 

Turtle Lake 

Woodville 



Altitude. 



1,104 

1.201 

1,045 

699 

928 

1.110 

1,207 
6S6 
788 
884 

1,109 
986 
809 
688 



706 
1,148 
1,083 

886 
1,039 

920 

922 
1,077 

692 
1,258 
1,152 



22 



SOIL 8VRYEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Table II— Altitudes of points on the important rivers. 



Station. 



Chippewa River. 
Reeds Landing;— High water 
Reeds Landing-— Low water. 

Eau Claire River, moutli 

Chippewa Falls, foot of dam 

Yellow River, mouth 

Jim Falls, foot 

Brunett Falls, foot 

Holcomta Rapids, foot 

Flambeau River, mouth 

Bruce, Sec. 28 

Murra.y, N. E. Sec. 23 

Flamheau River. 
Ducommon Rapids 

Ladysmith. below dam 

Little Falls Rapids 

Bier Falls, foot 

Big- Falls, head 

Rock Island rapids 



Altitude. 



680 

b64 

770 

806 

852 

901 

967 

1,004 

1,050 

1,064 

1,112 



1,070 

1.099 
1.137 
1.177 
1.209 

1.233 



Station. 



fieri Cedar. 

Mouth of River 

Dunnville 

Irving- 

Menomonie, foot of dam 

Cedar Rapids, foot 

Hnv River, mouth 

Colfax 

Cameron. (2 miles west) 

Rice Lake (R.R. crossing) — 
Cedar Lake, dam 

St. Croi.v River. 

Prescott, mouth of river 

Low water 
Kinnikinnic River, mouth — 

Apple Ki ver, month 

Osceola 

St. Croix Falls (head of navi- 

g-ation 

St. Croix Falls (crest of dam) 



Altitude. 



705 

723 

766 

788 

823 

859 

895 

1,068 

1,116 

1,191 



672 
683 



687 
750 



CLIMATE. , 23 



CHAPTER 11. 



CLIMATE. 



The climate of the area is not influenced by the Great Lakes 
but is influenced in a general Avay by its location with respect 
to the average track of the storms that move eastward, along 
the Canadian border, and those that move up the Mississippi 
valley from the southwest. As in other parts of the northern 
Mississippi Valley, extremes of temperature prevail, the sum- 
mers being warm with abundant precipitation, and the winters 
cold and relatively dry. 

Temperature. The climatic element-s of greatest importance 
to agriculture are temperature and precipitation. The temper- 
ature conditions of the area, are shown in the two tables, Table 
III and IV. The period covered is from 15 to 21 years, the 
period ranging from 1890 to 1909, the data being compiled from 
a recent sectional report of the U. S. "Weather Bureau of north- 
western Wisconsin. There are at present nine Weather Bureau 
stations within and near the area, but of the^e five have records 
of observations for only a relatively short period, of three to 
five years. The stations at present in the area or near the area, 
are located at Barron, Downing, Grantsburg, New Richmond, 
Osceola, Stanley, Weyerhauser, Eau Claire, Ellsworth and Red 
Wing, Minn. In compiling the temperature data, only the sta- 
tions at Barron, Osceola, Downing, Eau Claire and Grants- 
burg and Red Wing, Minn, are considered. Grantsburg, lo- 
cated in Burnett county, is but a short distance north of Polk 
county. 

Table III shows the mean temperature conditions for the grow- 
ing season of the year, from April to September. The mean or 
average temperature for each of the six stations for each month 
is given, and also the highest, and the lowest temperatures for 
each month. The mean temperature is the most import9,i}t 



24 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

datum to consider in agriculture, as the highest and lowest tem- 
peratures represent only the rare and extreme conditions. 

By comparing the data for the several stations, it will be ob- 
served that the mean temperatures are almost identical at all 
the stations for the summer months, and yet there is a slight 
and persistent difference between them which is worthy of note. 
The temperature of BaiTon is about one to two degrees colder 
than that of Osceola and Grantsburg, and about two to four 
degrees colder than that of Eau Claire. 

The table indicates that the summer isothermal lines or lines 
of equal temperature do not run east and west across the area, 
but run northwest and southeast. The summer temperatures 
of Eau Claire Dunn, and St. Croix counties are about the same. 
In the same way the summer temperatures of Chippewa and 
Polk would be the same. Rusk county is the coldest in the sum- 
mer, and Pierce and Pepin counties the warmest as indicated by 
the records at Red Wing. 

The Table IV showing the temperature for the non-growing 
season indicates that the temperature of Barron and the north- 
eastern part of the area is slightly colder in winter than the 
western part of the area at Grantsburg and Osceola, as well as 
colder than the southern part of the area at Eau Claire. At all 
the stations there are much greater extremes in temperature in 
winter than in summer. 

While the mean temperatures are the ' most important data 
in the tables, extremes of temperature are also of interest. The 
unusually low temperatures recorded in the area have reached 
40° to 48° below zero, and unusually high temperatures have 
reached .100° to 105° above zero. There are generally from 5 
to 10 days in winter when temperatures below 20° below zero 
may be expected, and from 5 to 10 days in summer when tem- 
peratures above 90° may occur. 



CLIMATE. 



25 



■lSf»A\OT[ 



CQ'£i o iN o eo 

W »-i W T-l CM CO 



m :o OS y:) r-i T-t 

■«^aiM 00- oo- a.- «:-:-• 

m ifs irt ift CO to 



=:^ 



■^S8AVot; 



•c^saqSiH 



'ti'e9i\[ 



'ct* CO o (M re irs 

CO CO CO CO CO rJ^ 



COGO-rf O QOlfi 

05 05 o c:)a5 Oi 



Cl -^ O l^ C2 :0 

■^ 'O t- -JD Oi 00 
^ -^ ^ -JD O to 



^ 



^ 



■;saqSiH 



CO -rs m CO CO <to 
o o oo o o 



•UBei^ 



C^l rl r- 05 t, O 

CO OUT. ^>- (Z> oi 

to Xi O "to t— 1>. 



•^S9avot; 



lO CO iC GO lO CO 
Ci (M tM ;M CNJ CO 






•a'B9j;\[ 



^-GO Oi oi>- Oi 
ci Oi as o as Ci 



-^ CO t—-"!^ 00 OS 

CO "^ -rf -rH to t^ 

CO CO to to to to 



';s9mot; 



■^saq^iH 



•uBai\[ 



CO lOi to^-OlO 

^ »-<'-"—' CM CM 



■*:*< CO CO oo '^ CM 

Oi O) a^ C5 ~. Ci 



as to to i>- o o 

CM -* -rt^ "tH f^ to' 

o lO mm lO lO 



■:jsaAVOT; 



•:^S9ii^[H 



O t^'^^H'^ ^^CO 



00 CO C-- -^ oo Ci 
00 CO GO 00 CO GO 



•Ltt:8J\[ 



JO q^JSiiaq 



OI T-( 't^ CM to t- 

^' co' TO co' lo in 



m ITS to CO O 00 



is 

Sm 03 o ^ iSiS 
tS fH 01 o c3 (t 

WOOOWM 



^ 



E^ 



I 00 t— t-OOOb- 



lO CM to '^ t- 'r*^ 



CM OI C^l Oi C-l C 



■qsawoT; 



I I I I M 



■^saqSiH 



o CM o^i c^i a; o 

m m lO ^ m liJ 



I I M I I 



•IsaqSiH 



in lO to in o -* 



CO C3 O T-l t-H (M 



■q.saiVO'T: 



OOCS OCOCOiO 
Cvt CO ^t^ CO C^> (M 

I I I I M 



■IsaqSiH 



•ireaH 



Ifi m li^ lO m lO 



CO l^ CO i>- 1- ^H 
CO to to to 00 O 



'^S9a\ot; 



in c*» -* -^ m OS 

t-hCOCOCM^ 

I i I I I I 



•Isaq^TH 



•a'Gai\[ 



oi vc o 'n c<! 00 

!>• t^ t- t^ I--. ^- 



^OOOC~CO-HCO 

03 o a^ o M CO 

CM CO C^I CO CO CO 



•^S9AlO'7 



Otr-C0 03000 



■jsaqStH 



•UBai\[ 



to ^ti to iO to o 

oo OOQOOO 00 oo 



I^ 00 00 i:^ :o t- 

in X" CO CO 00 00 



JO qiSuaq; i 



00 GO OS in :3^ ^^ 



■nonBAaig 



in in ;o to o 00 
^ Oi ooooo 

■^O 00O5Q0 c- 



C3 Ah c/} O ce <P 



26 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Precipitation. The precipitation,* which includes the snow- 
fall as well as the rainfall, at the stations, Grantshurg, Osceola, 
Downing, Barron, Eed AA^ing, and Eau Claire, is shown in the 
following tables : 



Table V. — Orantsburg, Burnett County, Wis. 
(Elevation, 1,095 feet.) 



Year 


3 


3 

3 


^ 










3 


u 

s 


J5 


S 


■ 

s 


« 




a 


fa 


3 






c 


>> 
"a 


by 


a 

0) 


O 

o 

O 


O 


o 
Q 

1.95 


a 


1889 








2.55 


3.4 


1.96 


4.00 




4.01 


T. 


0.65 




1890 


1.20 




2.25 




» 


10.76 


6.17 


7.51 


2.50 


1.55 


0.71 






1891 




























1892 






















1.10 


0.80 




1893 


1.40 


2.35 


0.90 


3.35 


2.45 


2.20 


1.21 


2.03 


i.io 


2.60 


0.90 


2.20 


22.99 


1894 


1.40 


0.20 


2.40 


5.15 


7 41 


1 41 


0.55 


0.72 


1.80 


3.72 


1.80 


1.37 


27.93 


1895 


0.99 


0.40 


0.40 


1.76 


4,61 


5.09 


4.36 


2.50 


4.70 


o.ot 


0.65 


0.50 


26.00 


1896 


1.15 


0..50 


2.57 


7.10 


5.9t 


3,47 


1.30 


1.53 


2.63 


4.22 


4.75 


1.35 


36.48 


1897 


1.35 


1.28 


2.70 


0.75 


2.00 


7.93 


9.67 


2.00 


3.65 


1.70 


1.04 


0.35 


.34.42 


1898 


0.39 


0.88 


2.12 


1.64 


4.85 


6.00 


1.59 


2.67 


1.9D 


5.F.0 


1.80 


T. 


29.14 


1899 


0.77 


1 57 


2.56 


2.50 


5.97 


2.30 


2.08 


4.89 


1.63 


4.(^3 


0.67 


1.93 


31.50 


1900 


0,77 


1.42 


0.67 


1.19 


1.31 


1.35 


8.77 


9.43 


4.60 


4.41 


1.05 


0.75 


35.74 


1901 


0.50 


0.65 


3.98 


1.65 


1.13 


5.26 


3.49 


2.13 


4.25 


1.68 


0.88 


1.02 


26.62 


1902 


0.85 


0.05 


0.75 


1.99 


2.85 


2.98 


5.31 


1..36 


:<.55 


1.82 


3.05 


2.68 


27.24 


1903 


0.82 


1.90 


2.17 


4.25 


6.55 


1.12 


9.37 


5.70 


10.02 


3.14 


0.60 


1.50 


47.23 


1904 


0.70 


1.55 


0.65 


1.25 


3.08 


5.33 


4.76 


3.68 


7.23 


5.04 


1'. 


1.50 


34.77 


1905 


1.45 


0.55 


1.20 


1.40 


3.19 


9.81 


5.53 


5.18 


7.73 


3.20 


2.48 


T. 


41.72 


1906 


3.05 


0.80 


1.10 


3.56 


4.95 


7.08 


2.38 


4.08 


2.61 


2.41 


1.93 


1.60 


35.55 


1907 


1.80 


0.90 


2.30 


0.85 


2.15 


7.11 


4.. 35 


2.44 


9.38 


0.40 


1.00 


0.50 


33.18 


1908..... 


0.55 


1.66 


2.35 


5.13 


8.22 


8.38 


3.05 


0.94 


1.90 


2.38 


0.42 


0.90 


35.88 


1909 


0.90 


2.15 


0.45 


4.02 


3.50 


1.57 


5.75 


3.28 


3.93 


3.03 


3.50 


2.50 


34.58 


Means.. 


1.11 


1.11 


1.75 


2.78 


4.11 


4.80 


4.40 


3.45 


4.18 


2.70 


1,44 


1.23 


33.06 



Osceola, Polk County, Wis 
(Elevation 80o feet.) 



1891 


0.90 


1.80 


2.30 


2,05 


1.95 


4.52 


2.38 


1.02 


1.52 


i.m 


1.22 


3.93 


25.25 


1892 


0.03 


1.47 


1.13 


1.32 


8.10 


8.14 


6.22 


4.64 


1.34 


0.62 


0.49 


0.63 


34.13 


1893 


1.46 


2.45 


2.91 


3.62 


2.58 


2.08 


3.17 


2.18 


2.04 


3.42 


0.79 


1.97 


28.67 


1891 


1.07 


0.15 


2.80 


4.74 


9 9.» 


2.40 


0.44 


0.65 


1.85 


4.69 


0.13 


1.60 


30.47 


1895.... 


0.86 


0.24 


0.55 


1.95 


4.67 


4.31 


5,.S5 


1.83 


5.72 


0.22 


1.14 


0.16 


27.00 


18H6 


0.71 


0.10 


2.34 


5.67 


4.86 


6,63 


1.83 


4,38 


2.77 


3.54 


3.20 


0.79 


36.82 


1897 


2.50 


0.73 


2.09 


1.34 


1.60 


7.30 


4.94 


1.35 


3.76 


2.11 


1.32 


0.11 


29.15 


1898 


0.03 


1.13 


4.43 


1.63 


6.60 


4.92 


1.32 


4.24 


0.87 


5.67 


1.69 


0.07 


32.60 


1899 


0.90 


1.30 


2.19 


2.86 


3.41 


6,85 


1.66 


4.87 


1.06 


3.72 


1.02 


1.54 


31.38 


1900 


0.35 


0.92 


0.70 


1.95 


0..36 


0.90 


9.76 


7.96 


8.14 


6.08 


0.71 


0.h7 


38 50 


1901 


0.38 


0.63 


3.24 


1.51 


1.74 


6,40 


3.79 


2.35 


5.20 


1.71 


1.87 


2,28 


31.15 


1902 


0.76 


1.42 


0.80 


1.95 


2.51: 


3.02 


3.98 


3.60 


3.9.-1 


1.23 


2.55 


2.11 


i7.95 


1903 


0.67 


0.44 


2.09 


2.92 


7.31 


2.26 


9.58 


4.42 


8.76 


4.14 


0,20 


0.83 


43.62 


1904 


0.70 


0.88 


1.37 


1.52 


5.21 


5.61: 


5.05 


3.54 


5.66 


5.32 


T. 


0.50 


35.39 


1905 


0.35 


0.78 


73 


0.62 


2.77 


6.27 


2,65 


5,35 


6.01 


2.62 


1.80 


0.20 


30.15 


1906 


4.50 


0.18 


3.50 


1.55 


6.61 


4.07 


5.02 


2.56 


3.75 


3.20 


1.77 


1.97 


38.68 


1907 


1.39 


0.53 


0.70 


1.05 


0.66 


3.35 


4.51 


2.98 


7.33 


1.45 


1.12 


0.20 


25.27 


1908 


0.55 


0.85 


1.45 


3.61 


8.23 


5.50 


3.05 


0.79 


3.32 


2.43 


0.98 


0.70 


31.46 


1909 


0.86 


1.41 


0.85 


2.50 


2.05 


5.68 


3.53 


3.66 


3.80 


2.20 


4.45 


1.92 


32.91 


Means.. 


1.00 


0.92 


1.90 


2.33 


4.27 


4.75 


4.12 


3.28 


4.05 


2.95 


1.39 


1.17 


32.13 



Prom Weather Bureau Report, Section 58, Northwestern Wisconsin. 



CLIMATE. 



27 



Doioning, Dunn County, Wis. 
(Elevation, 983 feet.) 





t>. 


Year 


cS 




a 








^ 


1891 


2.05 


1892 


0.47 


1893.... 


1.43 


1894 


1.25 


1895..... 
1896 


1.23 


1897 

1898 


b'.lb 


1899 


0.65 


1900 


0.31 


1901 





1902. ... 


0.60 


1903 


0.30 


1904 


1.00 


1905 


1.60 


1906 


3.00 


1907 


3.14 


1908 


0.91 


1909 


0.60 


Means.. 


1.17 



2.63 
1.90 
3.53 
0.32 
0.55 



1.04 
0.60 
0.51 

o^go 

0.05 
0.65 
1.00 
T. 
1.60 
1.80 
2.80 

1.24 



o 






a 












< 


2. 
S 


3 


3.12 


3.37 


2.14 


4.30 


2.09 


2.13 


7.4b 


5.83 


2.81 


6.17 


2.55 


1.54 


3.02 


5.65 


10.56 


1.90 


o!87 


i;23 


2;67 


4!86 


1.10 


1.60 


5.87 


8.37 


1. 10 


2.00 
2.15 


0.04 


2.46 


0.30 


2.15 


3 80 


3.00 


2.06 


3.55 


7.14 


1.62 


2.10 


2.00 


4.72 


4.92 


1.01 


T. 


5.90 


7.05 


1.20 


2.25 


8.44 


4.45 


2.21 


1.26 


1.70 


6.24 


1.50 


5.45 


2.75 


9.32 


0.40 


2.81 


2.58 


4.77 


1.66 


2.74 


4.55 


4.71 



2.44 
8.31 
2.81 
0.42 



2.11 

1.64 

10.55 

3!73 

8.78 
5 60 
2.65 
1.95 
3.30 
1.60 
4.96 

4.06 



3.85 
2.91 
2.33 

0.50 



3.55 
4.91 
4 34 
1.31 

2.00 
5,01 
4.90 
7.40 
5.63 
4.71 
1.50 
3.50 



1.41 
2.90 
2.59 
2.93 



0.89 
3.42 
9.46 
5.20 
2.45 
7.37 
4.20 
2.30 
4.91 
5.06 
1.20 
4.29 



3.65 3.77 



4.16 
2.60 
2.93 
4.33 



4.45 
4.45 
7.46 
1.39 
1.65 
2.45 
7.44 
3.15 
3.51 
1.10 
1.03 
2.94 

3.44 



0.52 
0.76 
0.77 
1.93 



1.04 
0.80 
0.37 

3!.«6 
52 
0.10 
1.06 
1.68 
1.00 
1.08 
4.56 



5.33 
1.09 
4.01 
1.68 



T. 

1.90 
0.95 

slei 

0.80 
0.90 
0.50 
1.80 
0..30 
1.20 
1.15 



35.32 
38.35 
33.47 
34.49 



22.76 
35.31 
39.55 



1.33 1.6? 



27.99 
39.65 
38.53 
33.62 
38.82 
31.62 
29.34 
35.34 

33.99 



Note— Observations at Menomonie from January, 1891, to February, 1895; at Knapp 
from January, 1898, to June. 1902; at Downing- from July. 1902, to December. 1909. 



Barron, Barron County, Wis. 
(Ele^'atlon. 1,115 feet.) 



1891.... 
1892.... 
1893.... 
1894.... 
1895.... 
1896.... 
1897.... 
1898.... 
1899.... 
1900.... 
1901.... 
1902.... 
1903.... 
1904.... 
1905.... 
1906.... 
1907.... 
1908.... 
1909.... 

Means. 













2.68 


1.86 


1.42 


1.46 


1.90 


0.70 


4.. 52 


0.26 


1.73 


6.98 


2.29 


7.03 


7.44 


4.61 


3.94 


1.77 


1.80 


1.04 


0.71 


1.23 


2.91 


1.75 


4.91 


3.85 


1.25 


3.28 


3.66 


2.85 


3.40 




2.05 


1.6S 


0.45 


2.44 


4.64 


8.94 


2.01 


2.40 


1.30 


1.85 


4.73 


1.40 


1.24 


0.83 
1.63 
2.03 


0.60 


0.48 


1.68 


3.63 


4.87 


4.93 


1.78 


3.90 


0.26 


0.80 


1.66 


1.75 


2!60 


\M 


2.17 


6!23 


5. '54 


1.25 


2.93 


i!85 


6!29 


O^SO 


0.25 


1.83 


1.80 


1.02 


4.40 


2.27 


1.90 


2.51 


0.98 


4.64 


1.00 


T. 


0.45 


1.16 


3.30 


1.73 


3.15 


7.00 


2.00 


5.87 


0.65 


4.26 


0.95 


2.02 


1.16 




1.19 


l.ll 


1.71 


2.20 


7.70 


7.64 




5.40 


1.00 


1.05 


0.49 


0.50 


3.50 


2 22 


1.82 


5.23 


5.10 


1.70 


6.55 


1.28 


1.50 


0.40 


1.50 


0.26 


86 


2.06 


3.63 


4.. 39 


3.65 


1.09 


2 39 


0.68 


4.. SO 


1.37 


0.59 


0.40 


2.52 


2.44 


5.86 


3.04 


6.55 


4.75 


5.95 


3.20 


0.50 


0.54 


1.25 


1.40 


l.U 


2.20 


6.55 


8.45 


6.15 


5.51 


6.76 


5.61 


T. 


90 


1.50 


0.50 


0.47 


1.00 


4.50 


13.70 


3.50 


8.50 


3.70 


2.40 


2.70 


T. 


3.20 


0.40 


1.00 


2.58 


7.45 


3.84 


2.40 


2.92 


2.08 


1.20 


0.43 


1.00 


1..30 


1.05 


1.08 


0.70 


1.83 


3.39 


2.75 


2.50 


3.75 








0.50 


1.00 


1.75 


4.05 


3.85 


5.64 


2.56 


1.61 


1.46 


3.08 


0.95 


0.87 


0.35 


1.35 


0.80 


3.61 


2.60 


2.56 


2.96 


4.08 


4.27 


2.54 


4.48 


1.24 


1.12 


1.08 


1 63 


2.36 


4.29 


4.79 


3.88 


3.45 


3.14 


2.84 


1.38 


1.17 



33.60 



33.08 
25.42 

28! 80 
22.60 
32.54 



30.29 
26.18 
.^6.. 34 
45.92 
42.47 
28.50 

27! 32 
30.84 

31.13 



28 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Red Wing, Goodhue County, Minn. 
(Elevation, 708 feet.) 



Year. 


►-5 


S 
"3 


o 
(^ 

0.54 
1.36 
0.43 
3.35 
0.51 
0.98 
2.01 
0.87 
2.31 
1.10 
0.20 
0.20 
2.50 
3.22 
1.95 
1.09 
1.79 
0.90 
0.73 
1.09 
1.74 
2.22 
0.61 
1.68 
0.77 

1.38 


3 

3.09 
4.68 
2.52 
4.92 
1.35 
1.87 
2.25 
1.09 
4.14 
3.30 
1.75 
4.56 
1.14 
1.38 
0.71 
1.83 
0.85 
2.36 
1.70 
0.88 
0.23 
2.10 
1.66 
4 10 
2.54 

2.28 








3 

bt 
3 


a 

a 


m 
O 
o 
O 


s 

CD 

o 

12; 


S 
o 

Q 


3 
S 


1885 




1.89 
].45 
0.99 
7.53 
1.85 
4.55 
1.46 
6.06 
2.17 
2.71 
4.25 
4.10 
1.54 
3.08 
4.16 
0.26 
1.12 
6.75 
8.44 
3.29 
5.46 
7.41 
0.81 
6.08 
3.34 

3.63 


4.62 
3.23 
5.24 
3.01 
3.01 
8.03 
6.36 
7.74 
2.28 
2.61 
3.72 
2.98 
4.29 
2.07 
6.60 
1.57 
5.42 
2.29 
0.41 
5.04 
7.40 
3.15 
4.05 
9.10 
4.40 

4.34 


5.99 
1.50 
3.58 
3.30 
2.23 
1.80 
2.77 
7.17 
2.63 
0.10 
3.60 
1.31 
4.51 
3.01 
1.93 
4.43 
1.94 
8.72 
3.38 
4.56 
3.64 
3.60 
3.26 
3.60 
1.86 

3.37 


2.70 
4.51 
6.70 
3.34 
3.96 
3.96 
3.13 
1.80 
2.18 
1.45 
1.84 
1.55 
3.29 
3.80 
4.50 
3.56 
3.74 
4.36 
4.40 
3.52 
8.71 
4.30 
7.57 
0.76 
1.78 

3.65 


4.43 
4.99 
5.04 
1.32 
1.45 
3.15 
1.23 
3.38 
2.50 
2.54 
3.92 
2.79 
5.09 
0.48 
1.50 
6.70 
7.28 
4.01 
11.74 
4.57 
1.94 
2.ii6 
6.54 
2.06 
7.38 

3.94 


1.62 

2.58 
1.58 
1.63 
0.02 
3.38 
1 64 
1.18 
1.60 
5.12 
0,18 
2,73 
4.51 
5.25 
4.20 
3.21 
1.56 
2.62 
1.80 
6.30 
3.08 
2.44 
0.84 
3.68 
1.98 

2.59 


44 
2.29 
0.73 
0.24 
1.32 
0.72 
0.86 
0.40 
0.45 
0.40 
1.62 
3.10 
1.78 
2.76 
0.88 
1.33 
0.62 
4.02 
0.22 
0.00 
2.24 
2.54 
0.96 
0.82 
5.50 

1.45 


0.81 
1.18 
3.67 
0.98 
1.94 
0.15 
4.60 
0.66 
3.15 
0,95 
0.60 
0.95 
0.30 
0.00 
1.12 
0.75 
0.61 
1.56 
0.53 
1.32 
0.30 
1.20 
0.48 
0.80 
1.44 

1.20 




1886. ... 

1887 

1888 

1889.. .. 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894... . 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898.... 

1899 

1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 

1908 

1909 

Mfians.. 


5.25 
1.22 
1.45 

0.80 
1.36 
2.06 
0.17 
0.y2 
0.90 
1.30 
0.97 
2.00 
0.32 
2.25 
0.79 
1.00 
0.46 
0.22 
0.31 
0.81 
1.86 
1.30 
0.26 
1.30 

1.22 


6.65 
1.71 
0.91 
0.54 
0.53 
1.66 
1.90 
2.84 
0..35 
0.80 
0.20 
0.95 
1.50 
4.39 
1.21 
0.69 
0.69 
0.59 
0.63 
1.03 
0.25 
1.10 
0.98 
1.34 

1.14 


33.67 
33.41 
31 98 
18.98 
30.48 
30.06 
30.42 
27.17 
21.53 
23.78 
25.44 
31.90 
26.87 
34.19 
26.73 
26.62 
38.74 
34.16 
31.51 
36.58 
33.63 
29.18 
33.92 
33.63 

30.19 



Note— From November, 1896. to Decsmber, 190.1. inclu jive, e.xcept January and Feb- 
ruary, 1908, the records ai-e from the river observing station at Red Wing. 



Bail Claire, Eau Claire County, Wis. 
(Elevation, 800 feet.) 



1891. 
1892. 
1893. 
1894. 
1895. 
1896. 
1897. 



1899.... 
1900.... 
1901.... 
1902.... 
1903 ... 
1904.... 
1905.... 
1906.... 
1907.... 
1908.... 
1909.... 

Means. 





2.95 


1.85 


1.70 


2.00 


5.40 


2.20 


1.70 


1.07 


3.10 


0.70 


4.65 


0.30 
1.31 


1.60 
2.70 


1.00 
1.90 


2.40 
5.90 


6.15 

4.87 


9.10 
0.66 






2.90 
2.21 


1.70 
3.26 


0,75 
1.30 


1.00 
5.10 


2.73 


1.77 


1.30 
0.98 


0.90 
0.44 


2.03 
0.22 


2.92 
1.67 


6.62 
1.17 










2.90 
0.56 


1.23 
1.83 


1.09 
0.90 


5.60 


4.13 


1.28 


4.06 


1.40 


0.40 


0.60 


6.35 


4.50 


6.25 


2.67 


3.00 


3.03 


3.00 


3.70 


0.50 


2.00 


2.75 


4.10 


1.16 


3.65 


5.05 


3,26 


3.20 


2.10 


2.49 


0.92 


0.72 


0.32 


2.26 


2.85 


2.22 


1.96 


1.50 


1.27 


0.23 


0.77 


5.13 


1.79 


0.27 


0.98 


1.47 


2.90 


1.58 


8.47 


7.02i 


1.62 


7.67 


3.23 


3.61 


0.67 


2.20 


1.00 


1.49 


1.23 


2.95 


0.75 


1.86 


8.88 


3.37 


8.73 


9.41 


1.32 


1.00 


0.56 


0.63 


3.58 


1.45 


2.26 


6.47 


4.01 


2.06 


5.71 


4 64 


0.54 


0.55 


0.77 


0.88 


1.51 


3.49 


5.27 


2.27 


5.91 


3.25 


2.21 


2.58 


4.28 


3.05 


0.32 


0.87 


2.10 


3.72 


7.03 


2.44 


8.78 


5.09 


9.12 


1.99 


0.65 


0.84 


0.31 


0.75 


1.65 


1.31 


2.52 


7.17 


2.42 


2.76 


3.66 


5.46 


0.24 


1.68 


0.73 


0.49 


2.28 


0.51 


6.61 


6,59 


2.46 


6.82 


4.43 


3.68 


1.33 


0.31 


2.24 


0.32 


3.07 


1.52 


7.20 


3.47 


3.10 


3.61 


4.13 


2.79 


2.75 


1.33 


1.85 


0.75 


1.95 


1.20 


3.27 


3.80 


1.12 


5.68 


3.65 


0.77 


1.33 


0.42 


0.58 


0.97 


2.63 


3.46 


5.64 


6.32 


2.28 


1.74 


2.91 


1.56 


0.08 


1.07 


1.03 


1.61 


1.28 


3.42 


3.00 


2.96 


2.20 


2.22 


6.S4 


2.63 


5.42 


1.46 


1.00 


1.28 


2.04 


2.58 


4.37 


4.66 


3.47 


3.26 


3.93 


3.22 


1.67 


1.48 



33.71 

22! 84 
35.40 
31.40 
20.57 
41.42 
41.99 
32.46 
35.47 
42.95 
29.93 
36.24 
35.53 
25.79 
30.14 
34.07 

32.96 



CLIMATE. 



29 



These tables show the actual amount of precipitation for each 
month at the various stations for the past 15 to 20 years, and 
also the annual amount for each of the years, as well as the mean 
monthly and mean annual precipitation for the period. 

The amount of rainfall during the growing season exerts the 
most influence on growing crops. The mean rainfall for the 
growing season and also the non-growing season is shown in the 
following table : 

Table VI. — Mean monthly ijrecipitation for the growing and non- growing 
season for the entire period of record of each station, to 1909. 



Month. 



April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

ae&tember 

Mean of the growing' 
season 

October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

March 

Mean ol the non-grow- 
season 

Mean annual 



Grants- 
burg. 



2.78 
4.11 
4.80 
4.40 
3.45 
4.18 



23.72 



33.06 



Osceola. 



.i.6.-i 

4.27 
4.75 
4.12 
3.28 
4.05 



22.80 



2.70 


2.95 


1.44 


1.39 


1.23 


1.17 


1.11 


l.UO 


1.11 


0.92 


1.75 


1.90 



9.33 



Barron. 



2.36 
4.29 
4.79 
3.b8 
3.45 
3.14 



21.91 



1.38 
1.17 
1.12 
1.08 
1.63 



9.22 



31.13 



Downing 



2.74 
4.55 
4.71 
4.06 
3.65 
3.77 



3.44 
1.33 
1.67 
1.17 
1,24 
1.66 



10.51 



33.99 



Eau 
Claire. 



2.58 
4.37 
4.66 
3.47 
3.26 
3.93 



3.22 
1.67 
1.48 
1.00 
1.28 
2.04 



10.69 



32.96 



Red 
Wing 



2.28 
3.63 
4.34 
3.37 
3 65 
3.94 



21.21 



2.59 
1.45 
1.20 
1.22 
1.14 
1.38 



The mean annual rainfall varies from 30.19 to 33.99 inches at 
the several stations. During the growing season from April to 
September the amount of rainfall is from 21.21 to 23.72 inches, 
the greatest fall occurring in May, June, and July, when most 
needed by the growing crops. 

The amount of precipitation in the non-growing season from 
October to March, varies at the stations from 8.98 to 10.69 
inches, being less than one-half the amount falling during the 
growing season. A little more than two-thirds of the annual 
rainfall, therefore, falls in the growing season. The monthly 
precipitation at Eau Claire and Osceola is illustrated in the 
diagram, fig. 13. 

While "the mean annual rainfall is generally from 30 to 33 



30 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



inches there are occasional dry years when there is much less 
precipitation. During the 10 year period from 1893 to 1903, 
the precipitation during the driest year was 20.6 inches at Eau 
Claire and 27.1 inches at Barron, and during the wettest year 
of this 10 year period, there was a rainfall of 42.7 inches at Eau 
Claire and 36.3 inches at Barron. The records appear to show 
that the annual rainfall in the northeastern part of the area 
is more uniform from year to year than in the southwestern 
part. 



EAU CLAIRE 


OSCEIOLA 

60 

— Ij 


z «i c cc > z J d a" H >' o 


.... o 

z mo: tt:>z-iCJfl.|->oz 
< u < a, < D D D ui oo u ~ 

->li.5<-2-j-j<toOZp 




^ . 5 

J- * -- /. 








r\ 


^1 ll 


d 

^ 1. 1 


II 1 


11 lI; 







Fig, 13. — Diagram showing monthly precipitation at Eau Claire and Osceola. 

It is of interest to compare the mean seasonal rainfall and 
mean seasonal temperatures of the area with that of the entire 
state and the adjoining states, as shown in the following table : 



Table VII — Table showing seasonal rainfall and temperatures. 





Spr 


mg-. 


Summer. 


Autumn. 


Winter. 




Mean 
temp, 
deg. 


Mean 
precip. 
inclies. 


Mean 
temp, 
deg-. 


Mean 
precip. 
inches. 


Mean 
temp, 
deg-. 


Mean 
precip. 
Inches. 


Mean 
temp, 
deg-. 


Mean 
precip. 
inches. 


Northwestern Wis — 


42. 

43. 

47.4 

48 

49 


8.6 
8.3 
8.8 
9.5 
9.9 


67.3 
68.0 
71.8 

72. 
72.3 


12.6 
11.2 
12.2 
10]6 
10.4 


46.1 

47. 

50.1 

52. 

52.9 


7.9 
8.1 
7.1 
8.3 
9.2 


13.7 

17. 

20.2 

23. 

26. 


3.7 
3.9 




3.3 




5.6 




7.5 







CLIMATE. 



31 



The summer months are the most important agriculturally and 
the table shows that for the summer season the mean tempera- 
ture of the area is very favorable for agriculture, and is only 
a few degrees colder than the temperature of Northern Illinois, 
Northern Indiana, and Iowa and that the rainfall during the 



KAY 20. 



MAX 



MAY. 



JKE 1 




BEFORE MA.y XST. 
Fig. 14. — Average dates of last killing frosts in spring. 



summer is more favorable than in the latter regions. The table 
shows that while the summer temperatures of the area closely 
approaches that of the region farther south, the winters are 
considerably drier, and colder than in the latitude of Northern 
Illinois, 



32 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Table Ylll.^ Frost data. 



Stations. 



Barron 

Grantsburg- 

Osceola 

Downing- 

Eau Claire 

Red Wing (.Minn.) 





Average date of 


Length of 






record. 


Last killing 


First Itilling 


years. 


frost 


frost 




in spring. 


in autumn. 


18 


May 22 


September 15 


17 


May 14 


September 19 


19 


May 12 


September 215 


15 


May 6 


September 24 


19 


May 10 


October 1 


8 


May 2 


October 5 



Killing Frosts, The average date of last killing frost in the 
spring and first killing frdst in the autumn is shown in the above 
table, complied from records extending "over a period of 19 
years. 

The average period of immunity from frost at Barron is 115 
days, at Grantsburg, 127 days, at Osceola, 134 days, at Down- 
ing, 140 days, at Eau Claire, 142 days, and at Red Wing, 155 
days. The average period of immunity from frost in Rusk 
county is probably between 105 and 110 days, and in Pierce and 
Pepin counties about 150 to 155 days. In the two charts* of 
the state, figures 14 and 15, the several zones having similar 
frost data in the Spring and Autumn, are illustrated. 

This period is sufficiently long for the growth of all common 
crops, with the possible exception of corn in the northeastern 
part of the area. ' In the northern part of Barron, and in Rusk, 
probal)ly only the "Wisconsin No. 8 variety of corn and flint can 
generally be brought to maturity. Corn for silage, of course, 
can be grown successfully in all parts of the area. 

Other crops that are likely to be affected by the frost are 
tobacco and potatoes. Potatoes readily ripen within the period 
of 100 days or less. Tobacco is successfully grown in Chippewa 
and Barron counties. Tobacco, with proper rainfall and warm 
temperature conditions, will ripen in 70 to 80 days. 

The tables of temperature and rainfall of the several stations 
furnish the detailed climatic data for the North Western area. 
It should be borne in mind by the farmer that the condition of 



* Bartlett, in Bulletin 290, University of Wisconsin. 



CLIMAi E. 



33 



the soil is only one factor in the problem of agriculture and 
that conditons of temperature and amount of ranfall, especially 
for the growing season are also very important factors. The 



oct.r 



Oct J 



irSept . 20 




.Oct. 10 



Oct; 10 

Fig. 15. — Average dates of first killing frosts in autumn. 



kind of crop raised should be especially studied with respect to 
its climatic requirements, and comparisons should be made with 
the known conditions under which such crops have been grown 
in other localities. 



34 SOIL SURYEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



I , CHAPTER III. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 

In the 6700 square miles of the area, there are fourteen kinds 
of soil as shown on the map. (Plate I in pocket.) Some of the 
soils are quite urdform in character over large areas while others 
are quite variable and lack uniformity. 

Character and Origin of Soil. — The soil cpnsists of mineral 
and organic material. The mineral portion of the soil originates 
through the disintegration and weathering of the stony material 
and the surface formations of the land, and the organic portions 
through the decay of animal and vegetable matter living upon 
and within the soil. 

The most effective agent in the weathering of soils is water in 
its various forms, the changes of temperature, and the air. 
Water in the coil aids chemically by dissolving mineral matter, 
and mechanically by washing and wearing away loose soil ma- 
terial. The alternate freezing and thawing of water in the soil 
and rocks, in autumn and spring tend to break up the soil 
particles. Earthworms and other burrowing animals, aid ma- 
terially in making soil. The growth of roots of the forest trees 
and also the smallest plants tend to split apart the rock parti- 
cles and assist in soil formation. 

Soil Erosion. — There is a constant process of wash by rains of 
the loose soil material from the higher levels and slopes of the 
hill sides to the valley bottoms, and thence by streams to still 
lower levels down the valleys. If rains are gentle, but little 
soil is washed away, but if rains are heavy, they may transport 
in a few hours enormous amounts of sand and mud to lower 
levels. 

But little erosion can take place on nearly level or gently un- 
dulatng lands, but where slopes are steep the various bad feat- 
ures of erosion may develop. The lighter and more sandy soils, 
into which the rains can readily penetrate are not likely to be 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 35 

appreciably eroded, even on the sloping lands, while the heavier 
clay soils and loams, unless carefully guarded may be sub- 
jected to much erosion. Most of this area on account of the 
loamy character of the soil and the gentle slope of the land is 
not likely to be much eroded, but in certain hilly portions, in 
the southwestern counties, the tendency to soil erosion should 
be checked as much as possible. 

Sources of the Soils. — The soils have their source in the slow 
weathering and decomposition of the various formations of the 
area, such as the glacial drift, the loess, the alluvial plains, and 
the sandstone, the limestone and the crystalline rocks. The 
most important formations from which the soils are derived, 
are' the surface formations of drift, loess and alluvial material, 
as these formations generally cover the bed-rock formations. In 
certain parts of the area, however, soils derived directly from 
the sandstone cover considerable areas. In the areas of the 
limestone and crystalline rocks, however surface formations of 
loess or drift are generally present. However the character of 
the surface formation is often largely determined by the under- 
lying rock and hence the various geological formations are im- 
portant factors in determining the character of the overlying 
soil. 

Surface Soil and Suh-soil. — The surface soil generally con- 
taining more or less organic material, usually extends to depths 
of 6 to 8 inches. The subsoil immediately below the surface soil 
is important as the medium in which much of the soil moisture 
is stored. If the subsoil is such as to hold too little or too much 
moisture, the fertility of the soil is greatly decreased. It is im- 
portant to know the character of the soil to a depth of 3 or 4 
feet below the surface as well as of that portion which is turned 
by the plow. 

Basis of Soil Classification. — The classification of soils and 
their separation and mapping into various types or phases, is 
based on the physical texture of the soil mainly due to the rela- 
tive proportions of sand and clay present. Soils are generally 
referred to as clays, loams, or sands. A clay soil generally con- 
tains from 25 to 50 per cent of clay and the remainder silt, sand 
or gTavel. A loam generally contains from 10 to 25 per cent of 
clay, a large proportion of silt and the remainder fine to coarse 
sand or gravel, A sand soil generally contains less than 10 per 



36 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



cent of clay, a small amount of silt, and a large amount of fine 
to coarse sand. BetAveen clays, loams and sands are many 
gradations such as phases of clay loams, silt loams and sandy 
loams. If a considerable amount of stone or gravel is present 
the soil is called stony or gravelly. Besides these soils there are 
the muck and peat soils containing a high percentage of decay- 
ing organic matter or humus, occuring in swamps and marshes. 

Chemical Composition of the Soil. — ^The various chemical ele- 
ments occuring in soil are oxygen, silicon, carbon sulphur, hydro- 
gen, chlorine, phosphorus, nitrogen, fluorine, boron, aluminum, 
calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron and manganese. 
The oxygen hydrogen, carbon, chlorine, and nitrogen get into the 
soil from the atmosphere and the rains assisted by vegetation. 
The other elements are found in the rocks and surface forma- 
tions from M'hieh the soils are derived. All the above named 
elements are generally in sufficient quantity to supply the re- 
quired plant food, for crops. Only four of the elements, potas- 
sium, phosphorus, lime and nitrogen are generally considered 
important in the study of the soil fertility because these ele- 
ments sometimes may be either lacking in sufficient quantity, 
or are not in an available form to supply plant food. 

The names adopted for the various soil formations are local 
and have been selected from the names of rivers or townships 
where the soils occur, within this area, and within the area of 
north central Wisconsin immediately to the east. 

The following table gives the approximate extent of the vari- 
ous soils mapped in the area : 



Table IX. — Ar'eas of the soils. 



Soil. 


Acres. 


Soil. 


Acres. 




788.000 
556.000 
482. 000 
341 000 
328.000 
323,000 
816.000 


Cheteksand.v loam 


230, 000 


Hart land silt loam 


216, 000 


Auburn loams 




189,000 


Baldwin silt loam 


Swamp and marshland — 

Milltown silt loam 

Thornapple sandy loam. . . 
Meridean sandy loam 


160,000 




69,000 




65, 000 




44, 000 







Of the fourteen soils, seven are soils derived from the weath- 
ering of glacial drift, and physiographically are upland soils. 
The drift soils include the Colby silt loam, Chelsea loam, Kennan 
silt loam, Cushing loam, Thornapple sandy loam, Milltown silt 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 37 

loam, and Baldwin silt loam. Other upland soils are the Auburn 
loam, developed mainly as residual soil on the sandstone and 
shale, and the Hartland silt loam developed on the loess. The 
soils which are of alluvial origin and mainly confined to the 
v^alley bottoms are the Rice Lake loam, the Meridean loam, the 
Chetek sandy loam, and the Sterling sand. Muck is character- 
istic of the marsh and swamp lands. 

BAIiDWiN LOAMS. 

Area.- — The Baldwin loam occupies the central and eastern 
part of St. Croix county, and the adjoining northern part of 
Pierce county, and in general is developed over the limestone 
formations. It embraces a contiguous area of about 550 square 
miles, located in the most thickly populated portion of the region. 

Surface. — In general the surface of the Baldwin loam is 
gently undulating with long gentle slopes. Considerable tracts 
are nearly level in eastern St. Croix county, in the towns of 
Springfield and Baldwin. The surface is gently undulating in' 
Hammond, Erin Prairie and Emerald, with occasional lakes and 
ponds. In Oilman, Martell and Pleaitant Valley the land varies 
from gently rolling to nearly level, with gentle slopes character- 
ized by wet lands with poor drainage along the large streams 
and their many small tributaries. These small areas of wet 
lands along streams are found in nearly all the townships. In 
Eau Galle broad valleys, sloping gently upward to the higher 
land, are characteristic. 

The area of this soil is niainly drained by the Eau Galle, 
Rush and Kinnickinnic rivers. In St. Croix county these 
streams flow through the broad uplands but further south in 
Pierce county they become trenched deeply into the limestone 
formations, first with narrow valleys and then farther south 
with broader valleys widening out to a mile or more. The 
Kinnickinnic river in the town of Kinnickinnic and River Falls 
has a broad valley bottom containing highly developed agricul- 
tural areas. 

While no peat marshes of any size are associated with this type 
a conservative estimate of the area that would be benefitted by 
drainage exceeds 15 or 20 per cent. In the town of Eau Galle 
and Springfield and southern Baldwin considerable areas of wet 
lands are found. Boulders are found in the soil throughout 



38 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

the area. In few cases, however, are the boulders so abundant 
as to interfere seriously with agriculture. Where the country 
has been opened fur settlement some time the stone has been 
hauled off from the cultivated fields. 

Forests. — The Baldwin loam was covered with dense forest 
in the eastern part of its area, and with meager forests in the 
northwestern part. In the densely w"ooded portion the trees 
were mainly hardwoods, consisting largely of maple, white oak, 
black oak, basswood, elm, ironwood and butternut. In the val- 
leys, or wet lands, ash, soft maple and elm predominate. Here 
and there, however, on the upland slopes and in the valleys were 
tracts in which white pine was predominant. A belt, nearly two 
miles wide, between Woodville and Brookville was one of the 
largest of these pine tracts. 

The pine has been wholly cut for several years. Considerable 
stands of dense hardwoods, however, still remain. Most of the 
60 per cent of undeveloped land of this soil type in the towns of 
Cady, Eau Galle and Oilman, is still covered with forest. 

In the towns of Hammond and Erin Prairie and vicinity were 
large tracts covered only with a meager forest growth consist- 
ing mainly of scrub oak, poplar, and hazelwood. These tracts 
were generally known as "prairies" and were the first lands in 
the region to be opened up to agriculture. In a few places only 
are there remnants of these thinly forested tracts. At present 
from 80 to 90 per cent of these thinly forested tracts are under 
cultivation. 

Soil. — In general the surface eight inches of the Baldwin loam 
is a silt loam or loam with sufficient amount of organic matter to 
give it a medieum dark brown color. This type is found over 
a large part of the area of Northwestern "Wisconsin, mainly on 
the higher land as distinguished from the areas nearer streams 
and along slopes. 

The subsoil from eight to twenty-four inches is usually a fine 
grained sandy loam. In places the subsoil is bluish in color 
where the underlying limestone is Trenton, and in such places 
it is quite retentive of moisture. At lower depths gravelly ma- 
terial is associated with much of the soil. The peculiar struc- 
ture of the subsoil in places where Trenton shale is present gives 
rise to some important problems of drainage which will be dis- 
cussed in another place. Underlying this loam is mainly a lime- 



MsdRlPflON OF THE SOILS. 3§ 

stone bed rock. In portions of Pierce county, mainly in River 
Falls and Martell, and in St. Croix county, in Kinnickinnic and 
Troy this limestone is the Trenton formation. In the remainder 
of the area, with a few exceptional areas of sandstone, the under- 
lying rock is limestone of the Lower Magnesian formation. 

There are slight variations of this soil which differ from the 
dominant type just described. 

A portion of the Baldwin soil area has been designated as a 
prairie though it differs essentially from a true prairie in the 
absence of black prairie soil. A true prairie soil contains a rela- 
tively large amount of organic matter, as can be observed by 
the black color of soil to considerale depths of five or twenty 
feet, or even more. This black organic matter represents past 
accumulation of prairie grass and other vegetation that has 
grown up and accumulated in the soil there to decay during 
long periods of time. Rainfall is an important factor, and also 
topography, in developing a prairie vegetation. "When rainfall 
exceeds 25 inches the native vegetation tends more to develop 
light forest growth and consequently less grass vegetation. 

The surface soil on the openings or ''prairie" tracts is me- 
dium heavy loam carrying small amount of coarse gravelly par- 
ticles. It has a grayish to dark gray color with a fair amount 
of organic matter as indicated by chemical analyses. The sub- 
soil becomes somewhat more clayey at about two feet, and is 
usually of yellowish color. The organic content in the surface 
eight inches in the so-called prairie of Hammond and Erin 
Prairie, as shown by chemical analysis, is practically the same 
as in the heavily forested soil in Springfield and Eau Galle. Be- 
low 22 to 24 inches the soil in most cases becomes somewhat 
gravelly in places but the clay content with it makes the soil at 
the lower depth more compact. 

The content of medium and fine sand in this soil makes it 
fairly loose and open, yet some areas show that tile drainage is 
needed to remove surplus underground water. This is especially 
true where the land is nearly level. 

Aside from the marshy tracts, there is perhaps no section 
within this area described in this report where necessity of drain- 
age is of so much importance as in this section. Surface ditch- 
ing would be a considerable help in many areas but eventually 
tile drainage must be resorted to. Up to the present time little 



40 



80IL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



has been attempted in the way of tiling. Many farmers are in 
doubt as to the efficiency of tile drainage, fearing that the heavy 
subsoil would prevent downward passage of water fast enough 
or that the tile will fill up and hence be of no value. General 
practice elsewhere has long demonstrated the great value of tile 
drainage. 

In speaking of drainage it is the popular notion generally 
that only low lands and marshes are areas most in need of drain- 
age. In this area much of the land requiring drainage is up- 
land, some even on highest table land, where the fall for natural 
drainage would ordinarily be sufficient. The subsoil, however, 
in these wet upland tracts is usually the tenacious Trenton clay 
already referred to. "When this clay becomes thoroughly wet 
it is impervious, causing water-logging of soil at the surface. 

The results of mechanical analyses of composite samples of 
the soil and subsoil are shown in the following table : 

Table XL — Meclianical anah/sis of the Baldwin silt loams. 



No. 


Location. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
gravel. 


Coar.se 
sand. 


Med- 
ium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 

fine 

sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


130 
130 
122 
122 
125 
125 


Spring-field, 

St. Croix Co.... 
Spring-fleld, 

St. Croix Co. . . . 
Eau Galle, 

St. Croix Co.... 
Eau Galle, 

St. Croix Co 

Erin Prairie. 

St. Croix Co 

Erin Prairie, 

St. Croix Co.... 


Soil 

Subsoil . . 

Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil . . . 


.0 
.3 
.0 
.4 
.0 
.3 


t).2 
10.6 
8.8 
9.0 
G.9 
7.9 


5.9 
11.5 

9.11 
11.7 

8.9 
20.0 


9.4 
17.2 
13.1 
15.4 
. 11.0 
16.4 


12.8 
11.2 
12.5 
15.4 
15.5 
15.0 


55.4 
38.0 
45.7 
32.5 
48.0 
32.4 


9.9 
11.0 
10.3 
15.2 

9.3 
16.0 



Agriculture. — The crops raised are very largely oats, wheat, 
some barley and flax. Wheat is important only in Hammond, 
Erin Prairie, and adjacent territory. Corn is raised mainly in 
western St. Croix and on the ui^lands in Troy, Kinnickinnic in 
northern Pierce county. In the remainder of area the corn 
acreage is considerably less. The leading exports from the farm 
consist of dairy products and live stock, mainly hogs, beef cat- 
tle, and sheep. The dairy product is mainly cream .which is 
usually collected and sent to local creamery, run on a co-opera- 
tive basis. The Baldwin co-operative creamery is one of the 
largest in the state. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 41 

In Rush River and Pleasant Valley are areas of sandy loam of 
limited extent. This soil with its large area of slopes is well 
adapted to grazing' and pasture. The Baldwin loam is well 
adapted for dairying and sheep raising. Fifty per cent of the 
wool raised in nortliAvestern Wisconsin is raised on the Baldwin 
soil. Pasture lands are well watered as a rule and retain good 
feeding ground even during dry seasons. Large tracts are de- 
voted to hay, timothy, redtop, and some clovers. 

The grain and hay is generally fed on the farms. Corn has 
not been extensively grown but a A^ariety like "Wisconsin No. 8 
ought to be tried. The average period of immunity from frost 
is 135 to 145 days in Pierce and St. Croix county. There is no 
question but what corn would mature. Dairy farmers will also 
soon find corn silage an excellent feed for dairy stock. More 
attention should be given to proper rotation of crops on this soil. 
Hay fields in which timothy was grown for three to five years 
were common. When this old sod is plowed again the physical 
condition of the soil is far^from what it should be. After lying 
so long in sod a good application of farm manure is needed to 
develop sufficient fertility to produce a good grain or corn crop. 

A good rotation is to include clover or alfalfa in the rotation 
either alone or with red top and timothy and allow these crops 
to occupy land not longer than two years out of a possible four 
or five year rotation. In connection with growing alfalfa it 
might be mentioned that when farmers have difficulty in ob- 
taining a stand it is due probably to lack in the soil of the bac- 
terial organism which causes the formation of tubercles or 
nodules on the roots. The soil in such cases requires inocula- 
tion from fields where alfalfa is growing. When this is impos- 
sible inoculation by scattering soil from the sweet clover plant 
does equally well. The organisms from alfalfa and sweet clover 
are identical. Sweet clover grows along the roadsides as a tall, 
rank weed with whitish blossom. Around Centerville, and also 
near Beldenville areas of sweet clover were observed. 

Ground limestone at the rate of 2000 pounds per acre will he 
beneficial on many of these soils where soil acidity has devel- 
oped, the acidity being shown by the development of a rather 
healthy growth of yellow sorrel and sheep sorrel. When ground 
limestone is unobtainable, unslaked lime will do equally well. 

The application of limestone and phosphate fertilizer where 



42 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

needed together with the very general growing of leguminous 
crops and the application of stable manure applied directly from 
the stable and a proper rotation of crops Avill maintain fertility 
of the soil as well as insure profitable crop yields. 

The so-called "openings" or "prairies" in Hammond and 
Erin Prairie have been and are still the most important grain 
raising sections in the region. "When first opened to agriculture, 
wheat was about the only crop harvested and sold from the farm. 
About 1890, however, a change came about and less wheat was 
so\^Ti, partly due to decrease of yield and partly to ravages of 
the chinch bug. During the last 15 years there was a tendency 
to grow more of the other grains and a rotation including oats, 
barley, and Avheat in order named became the system. At pres- 
ent this order of farming still applies to the town of Erin and 
to a smaller degree elsewhere. At present the tendency else- 
where is away from the exclusive grain farming and towards a 
diversified farming instead. Corn is becoming more important 
and stock is raised for dairy and beef purposes. 

The farmers have learned from experience that an exclusive 
grain farming system which does not involve the return of abund- 
ant fertilizing material during course of rotation, has lowered 
the yield per acre so much that in some instances the crop did 
not pay for the labor expended in caring for it. With a more 
systematic rotation, including the more general growing of clover 
and application of farm yard manures the yield per acre has 
been perceptibly increased. 

The ideal system of farm practice requires the keeping of 
considerable stock and the maintenance of a balanced system of 
rotation of crops in which" some grains, wheat or oats, flax, etc., 
and clover would be included. The farm products exported 
would consist mainly of cream, butter, or fat stock. Even when 
grain is largely the important crop exported, the fertility of the 
soil and production per acre can also be maintained. Such a 
system would involve a rotation of crops in which clover would 
occupy land at least one-quarter of the rotation period, and a 
generous application of manure and lime or phosphate occa- 
sionally when needed. Where grain raising is the principal in- 
dustry and where, as shown by experimentation, a phosphate 
fertilizer is needed to increase the yield the phosphate should 
be applied to the soil in combination Math stable nianure. The 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 43 

manure will aid greatly in making the phosphorous available. 
The organic matter in the soil also acts similarly to manure in 
gradually liberating the phosphorous in the fertilizer. Where 
the phosphate fertilizer is found to be beneficial, applications of 
about 1000 pounds of ground rock phosphate per acre followed 
by lighter application of 200 to 300 pounds during each rotation 
period is generally found to be sufficient. The supply of nitro- 
gen to the soil can be maintained as already stated by the growth 
of leguminous crops. 

Land Values. — The usual price of improved land ou this soil 
type is $60 to $100 per acre, and occasionally higher prices. As 
a rule farms devoted to grain raising bring lower prices than 
those devoted to dairying and stock raising. 

COLBY SILT LOAM. 

Area. — This soil formation occupies a large part of Barron 
county, with small areas in adjoining counties. In Chippewa 
county in the vicinit}^ of Stanley and Boyd is a considerable 
area of this soil formation. This soil has an area of 525 to 550 
square miles, 85 per cent of which is within Barron county. It 
has also a wide extent farther east, in Clark, Taylor, Marathon, 
and "Wood counties, as described in the report on the soils of 
North Central Wisconsin. 

Surface. — The surface of this soil is gently rolling and undu- 
lating. See Plates YI and VII. Somewhat liilly areas are found 
adjacent to streams and rivers, as for example along the Hay 
river and Turtle creek, where tracts nearly one-half mile in 
width are quite broken and uneven. As a general rule, however, 
none of this land is too hilly for cultivation. The soil is gen- 
erally well drained, and within its area lakes and swamps are 
very rare. 

In many instances the very gently sloping fields would be 
benefited by tile drainage. While the character of the subsoil 
is generally favorable to natural underdrainage, yet there art* 
exceptions where the soil remains too wet and cold during the 
growing season to develop good crops and in these cases tiling 
or other methods of farm drainage should be practiced. 

Forests: — This soil was formerly forested with a heavy stand 
of mixed timber including maple, basswood, oak, with some elm 
^nd ash among the hardwoods, and white pine, hemlock, and 



44 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



some balsam. The pine was cut first and practically none re- 
mains at present. Among the liardwoods, considerable tracts 
of maple, basswood, and elm are found throughout the entire 
area. 

Soil. — The soil of this formation to a depth of eight inches is 
a silt loam. It contains enough silty material to make it a quite 
friable and open soil. Some boulders and coarse material are 
associated with it. The subsoil is yellow to buff colored silt 
loam that becomes slightly more clayey Avith depth. Both sur- 
face and subsoil are quite uniform in physical character. 

The following table gives the results of mechanical analyses 
of the soil and subsoil of this type : 



Table XII. — Meclianical analysis of Colby silt loam. 



No. 


Location. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
gravel. 


Coarse 
-sand. 


Med- 
ium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 
fine 
sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


154 
154 
119 
119 


Barron Co 

Barron Co 

Chippewa Co.... 
Chippewa Co 


Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 


.1 
.0 

.0 
.0 


3.2 

3.2 
2.5 
0.6 


4.0 

4.7 

1.6 

.5 


3.6 
3.2 
3.3 

.7 


12.6 
19.7 
20.3 
20.5 


61.9 
51.2 
58.7 
63.5 


13.6 
17.4 
13.7 
14.0 



The Colby silt loam is a glacial drift soil derived from the 
weathering of the old drift formations. The material of the 
drift consists of clay, sand, and boulders from the crystalline c 
granite formation and sandstone. The soil is free from debris 
derived from limestone formation, and in this regard differs 
from the Baldwin loam which contains much limestone material. 
While the Colby silt loam generally contains sufficient lime de- 
rived from the weathering of crystalline formation the content 
of lim_e in the soil water and in the soil itself is probably gen- 
erally lower than in soils developed upon limestone drift. An 
acid condition, hoAvever, of this soil is of rare occurrence, at 
present, though acidity may develop later. 

The soil bears well, is naturaly well drained on account of its 
rolling surface and works up easily as a rule. It is one of the 
most fertile soils of northern Wiseonsin. It is not known to 
pack or become puddled after heavy rains. At the present time 
less than one-half of the land in farms is under cultivation, but 
the clearing of land for agricultural purposes is going on rapidly. 

Agriculture, — Dairying is the leading industry on this soil 





1^ 




H 




.^ 




«! 




O 




t] 




O 




O 




f 


02 

o 


ta 


^ 




Ul 


Ui 










& 


f 




O 


•a 


> 




g 




Hi 


c 




t-S 




o 


SO 


fs 


O 


& 


d 


-^ 


t^ 


fo 






H^ 


m 


^ 


02 


H 




oo 


a 


H 


-;j 




£. 


O 


o 


•^ 


'^ 






S 


^^ 


O 


c' 


H 



(D j> 



o 
o 




DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 45 

type at present and will probably continue to increase in im- 
portance as the land is brought under the plow. The soil is 
especially well adapted to live stock. The tract furnishes 
abundant pasturage, and springs and streams afford plenty of 
water. Clover and other tame hay produce excellent yields. 

Oats are the leading grain raised. Barley and wheat are 
grown to a small extent and give good yields. Corn has not 
been raised extensively on this soil, though both soil and climate 
are favorable. A large acreage is devoted to pasture, clover, and 
timothy. Potatoes are a good crop for export. Sugar beets 
and other root crops are grown quite extensively. The acreage 
of corn should be increased not alone for its value as silage and 
grain, but also for its value as a rotation crop with oats and the 
grasses. 

Larid Values. — The prices at which improved land is held 
varies from $60 to $100 per acre. Uncleared land of this type 
is generally held at $15 to $25 per acre. Good stands of timber 
still remain on, large tracts of this soil type. 

KENNAN Sn^T LOAM, 

Area. — The Kennan silt loam lies in the northeastern part of 
Chippewa county and over a large part of Rusk county. It is 
mainly the gently undulating ground moraine area of the latest 
drift sheet. This soil type extends over a large portion of Price, 
Taylor and Lincoln counties as described in the soil report of 
North Central Wisconsin. 

Surface Features. — The surface of the soil is generally rolling 
or slightly undulating with here and there, throughout the area, 
broad stretches that are quite level. Nearly all of the soil can 
be brought under cultivation. Large swamp and marsh areas 
are prominently associated with this type in portions of Rusk 
county. Nearly one-fourth of some of the towns in Rusk, as 
indicated on the soil map, are marsh and wet soil. The tract is 
drained mainly by the Chippewa and Flambeau rivers. See 
map of eastern part of Rusk county, figure 16. 

Native Forest. — ^This silt loam developed some of the finest 
stands of hardwoods in the state. Pine was not relatively abund- 
ant, but considerable hemlock was interspersed with the hard- 
wood. Cedars are common along low river areas. 



46 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



At present but little of the original forest remains. Th« 
pine has been wholly removed, and at present the hemlock and 
hardwoods are being rapidly cut out. Forest fires have caused 
much damage in places. The wooded section of northeastern 
Rusk county suffered especially from wind storms, at an early 
date as indicated by numerous tracts of windfalls. Large mills 
for sawing hardwood and hemlock are located at Atlanta, Lady- 
smith, Ingram, Hawkins, Euby, and Arnold. 



R-4.-W 




T-35-N. 



KENNAN SILT LOAM. 



SWAMP LAND 



Fig. 16. — Soil map of northeastern Rusk county. 

Soil. — The surface soil to depth of eight inches is a silt loam, 
somewhat grayish in color and quite free from stone. The sub- 
soil is silt loam, carrying considerable clay. As shown by me- 
chanical analyses most of the soil is very fine sand, silt and clay. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 



4t 



Both surface and subsoil are quite uniform over the area. Some 
stone occurs in the soil and in some places interferes with agri- 
culture. These stony areas are found in low places or bordering 
marshes, and in a few cases on the uplands. Some of the soil 
on the gentle slopes will require tile drainage to get the best 
crop results. 

The results of the mechanical analyses of samples of the soil 
and subsoil are shown in the following table : 





Table XIII. — Mechanical 


analys 


es of A 


'ennan 


silt loam. 




No. 


Location. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
gravel. 


Coarse 
sand. 


Me- 
dium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


\ ery 
fine 
sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


120 
120 


Chippewa Co 

Chippewa Co 

Ruslf Co 


Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 


.0 
.0 
.1 


2.5 

.7 

2.3 

1.9 


1 8 

.7 

2.4 

2.2 


3.0 
1.3 
4.0 
3.6 


18.5 
29.1 
12.1 
25.1 


60.3 
52.6 
67.7 
55.3 


14.7 
15.4 
11.2 
11 5 


1fi5 


Rusk Co 









Agriculture. — This soil area is opening up and developing 
rapidly into a typical dairy section, for which purpose it is well 
adapted. The grasses grow exceptionally well, especially clovers, 
timothy, and red top. The many streams furnish abundance of 
water for stock. Common wells 15 to 30 feet deep furnish a 
supply of water for the home. Blooded stock is being intro- 
duced, Holsteins aud other dairy types being most prominent. 
Sheep have been introduced and pay well. 

Small grains such as oats, and barley yield abundantly, the 
yield of each being 30 to 40 bushels per acre. Corn has not 
been grown to a large extent. With the increase in the dairy 
industry more corn, especially for ensilage, will be grown. Spe- 
cial crops like seed peas for canning purposes have been found 
to do well on this soil. A large farm in southeastern Rusk has 
been developed for growing peas for seed and canning purposes. 
The common pea could be successfully raised for fattening hogs 
and other stock in place of corn. 

In Chippewa county tobacco has been grown successfully on 
this silt loam soil. The acreage of both the tobacco and pea 
crops will be materially increased in these counties in the future. 

The chemical analysis of a sample of virgin soil collected from 
northwestern Chippewa county shows that the soil is well sup- 
plied with essential plant food elements. This should not be 



48 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

taken however, to indicate that excessive grain cropping with- 
out proper attention to rotation can be practiced on it. The 
present up-to-date agriculturist should profit by the experiences 
of others in the past and maintain the fertility of his soil. 

The Kennan clay loam is very largely wild land, either thickly 
forested with hardwoods of cut-over land. Probably less than 
5 per cent of this soil in Chippewa county is under cultivation 
and less than 3 per cent in Eusk. 

The cost of clearing this land ranges from 15 to 30 dollars 
per acre, dependmg upon the amount of slashing and stumpage 
found on it. The wood not fit for lumber is usually sold as 
fuel to the paper and saw mills and the profit received from this 
source helps considerably to defray cost of clearing the land. 

Land Valuea: — The wild land, with little or no merchantable 
timber, is generally held at $10 to $20 per acre, depending on 
location and accessibility. Cleared farms, with buildings, are 
generally held at $50 to $80 per acre. 

CHELSEA LOAMS. 

Area. — The Chelsea loams form a belt of considerable width 
in northeastern Chippewa county, western Rusk county, north- 
western Barron county, and a large portion of Polk county. 
This soil type, as defined, consists essentially of undulating ter- 
minal moraine of the latest period of glacial drift. The Chelsea 
soil covers a large area farther east, in Taylor, Lincoln and 
Langlade counties, as described in the soil report of North Cen- 
tral Wisconsin. 

Surface Features. — Because of the manner in which this soil 
type was formed, as glacial moraines, considerable variation in 
the surface features have developed. In general, the land is 
undulating with belts of low ridges and billowy hills, associated 
with basin-like depressions, swamps and small lakes and ponds. 
See Plate VIII. Here and there, throughout, are stretches of 
more level areas. The hilly land is usually more stony than 
the level areas, the latter usually being either more sandy or 
more clayey than the former. 

In western Rusk and eastern Barron counties are relatively 
high uplands consisting of hard quartzite formations. On the 
slopes of these ridges there is usually much loose stone. Flam- 
beau Ridge in northern Chippewa county is a prominent feature 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 49 

of the topography. In the west central part of Polk county are 
broad upland areas of trap rocks, showing abundant outcrops 
of rock ledges. 

Native F'Ore&t. — The Chelsea loam was originally covered with 
a den^e growth of hardwoods, hemlock, and pine. Practically 
all the pine has been cut for a number of years. Large bodies 
of hardwoods and hemlock, however, still remain. The hard- 
woods were chiefly maple, oak, birch, basswood, and elm. The 
amount of hemlock was generally equal to or greater than the 
combined hardwoods. 

On the lighter phases of the soil, some scrub oak was devel- 
oped. In the swampy and wet tracts, spruce, ash, soft maple, 
and ash are common. 

Soil. — The Chelsea loam varies from a sandy to silty loam 
in the surface eight inches, with a somewhat heavier subsoil of 
loam from eight to thirty inches. The surface soil is grayish to 
medium dark in color, and the subsoil lighter colored. The soil 
is not uniform over the area as mapped, but varies from a 
sandy loam to silt loam. 

The soil is derived from the weathering of glacial material, 
consisting of sand, clay, and boulders of crystalline and sand- 
stone formations. No limestone material occurs in the soil. 

A detailed soil map of the area should show a complex asso- 
ciation of sandy loam and silt loam type of soils. In some 
places the heavier silt loams prevail, in other places, the sandy 
loams. 

The surface feature of the soil as already described are uneven 
and undulating, and the variation in the physical texture of the 
soil, is strongly influenced by the, topography. 

Stone and boulders are a common occurrence in the soil. Gen- 
erally the stone is found in narrow belts and patches, and occa- 
sionally becomes a serious handicap to the development of agri- 
culture. The low marshy areas are often quite stony. 

The mechanical analysis of the soil is shown in the following 
table : 



50 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Table XIV. — MecJianical analysis of Chelsea loam. 



No. 


Location. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
gravel. 


Coarse 
sand. 


Me- 
dium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 
fine 
sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


110 


Polk Co 


Soil 

Subsoil.. . 


0.1 
.0 


5.7 

3. a 

7.4 


4.0 
3.2 
4.3 


4.0 
3.0 
4.2 


19.4 
27.2 
14.2 


53.6 
46.3 
57.3 


12.8 


140 
136 


PollvCo 


16.8 


Polk Co 


Soil 


.2 


11.8 











Agriculture. — ^The soil is well adapted for certain lines of ag- 
ricultural development. Chief among these is dairying together 
with sheep and stock raising. The rougher and more hilly por- 
tions are admirably adapted for grazing purposes. In some 
few localities sheep and goat raising has already assumed im- 
portance. In the newer sections sheep and young stock will be 
found profitable while the cultivable areas are being cleared for 
the plow. 

Dairying is now the most important industry and will become 
more important in the future. Several factors are strongly fav- 
orable to dairy farming on this soil. In the first place, pas- 
turage, as stated above, is abundant, and all grasses thrive 
readily. Clovers, timothy, and alfalfa do exceptionally well 
for hay crops. 

Oats are the principal grain crop, the average yield being 
about 40 bushels per acre. Barley and wheat are raised to 
some extent. The acreage of corn has markedly increased dur- 
ing the last 10 years, being more than double that of 10 years 
ago. The average yield per acre of wheat is about 15 bushels, 
of rye 16, bushels, of barley 30 bushels, and corn 40 bushels. 
The yield of hay is generally from one and one-half to two tons 
per acre. Excellent potatoes are grown, the usual yield being 
100 to 150 bushels per acre. 

The grains and forage crops are generally fed on the farms 
instead of being marketed. Concentrated feed stuffs are pur- 
chased besides, especialy where the dairy business is continued 
throughout the year. 

If the dairying system of farming continues in its rapid de- 
velopment, the question of maintaining the fertility of the soil 
will be easily solved. A low stage of fertility like that which 
tends to be developed by excessive grain cropping, is not likely 
to be developed on farms where much stock is raised and where 




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DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 51 

the return of plant food to the soil is made in the form of barn 
yard manure. 

Only a small percentage, probably less than 5 per cent, of this 
soil type in Chij)pewa, Rusk and northeastern Polk counties is 
opened to agriculture. Part of the uncleared area is still cov- 
ered with dense forests, and part of it is cut-over land. Most 
of the unsettled area is as good for agricultural purposes, as that 
which has already been brought under the plow. 

Land Values. — The land still unopened to agriculture, is held 
at various prices, varying from $8 to $15 per acre, the price de- 
pending on location, amount of merchantable timber, etc. 
Cleared land generally sells for $40 to $60 per acre, depending 
on the character of the farm buildings. As already described, 
the soil of this type and its surface features are quite variable, 
and nearly all farms are likely to contain some land of relatively 
low agricultural value with the land of very good character. 

MILLTOWN LOAM. 

Area. — The Milltown loam is mainly within Polk county, oc- 
curring in bodies of considerable extent in the region about Mill- 
town, Centuria, and Sand Lake; farther east in the southern 
part of the town of Georgetown is a large body and also a con- 
siderable area in the region about Joel and Range; there is also 
a small body in the town of Farmington. The total area of this 
type is about 110 square miles. 

Surface. — The surface varies from level to slightly undulat- 
ing, containing depressions or basins, some of which are occu- 
pied by lakes, ponds, and small marshes. The topography is 
the characteristic "pitted plain" topography of glacial drift 
areas. The depressions and basins, however, occupy only a 
relatively small proportion of the tract, most of the land being 
nearly level to slightly rolling, see Plate IX. 

Native Forest. — The soil was originally covered with dense 
hardwoods, with some pine and hemlock. The hardwoods were 
mainly, maple, birch, oak, elm and basswood. Some poplar and 
pine grew along the streams. The pine has been wholly cut 
and most of the hardwoods have been removed. Practically all 
of this land is set off into farms and probably 40 to 50 per cent 
of the land is now under cultivation. 



52 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

Soil, — The surface four to eight inches of this soil is generally 
a fine, sandy loam or loam, grayish to brownish in color. The 
subsoil is grayish yellow ]oam, quite similar in texture to the 
surface soil to a varying depth of one to three feet, at which 
depth much sand and gravel is often met with. The mechanijsal 
analysis shows this soil to consist largely of very fine sand and 
silt. In some places the soil is quite stony, the stone being 
glacial boulders mainly of granite rock. Like all other glacial 
soils in the area the type contains a variable amount of gravel 
in the soil, the gravel being more abundant in the subsoil than 
in the surface soil. The material of the drift consists wholly of 
granite and sandstone material mixed with silty clay, and sand. 
The subsoil conditions are favorable to good underdrainage and 
the surface soil is capable of holding sufficient soil moisture, for 
all crops, with tlie ordinary rainfall. The type is an easy one 
to cultivate, and on the whole is one of the most fertile soils in 
the region. It has already developed into one of the most thrifty 
agricultural sections of Polk county. 

The results of mechanical analyses of a sample of the soil and 
subsoil is shown in the following table : 





Table XXJX.— Mechanical analysis of Milltown loam. 






No, 


Locality. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Pine 
grravel. 


Coarse 
sand. 


Med- 
ium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 

fine 

sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


Ufi 


Polk Co 


Soil 

Subsoil... 


.0 
.0 


7.. 7 
9.9 


9.9 

12.8 


14.2 
17 4 


23.9 
22.0 


36.0 

24.7 


8.0 


14R 


Polk Co 


13.3 









Agriculture. — The Milltown loam is well adapted to diversi- 
fied farming and is now quite generally devoted to dairying and 
grain raising. The leading grain is oats, with a much smaller 
acreage of barley, wheat, corn, and rye. The average yield of 
wheat is 18 to 22 bushels per acre, of oats 40 to 50 bushels, 
barley 35 to 40 bushels, and corn 30 to 35 bushels. The yield of 
hay is generally 1% to 2 tons yer acre. The acreage to potatoes 
is relatively small, the usual yield being 100 to 150 bushels per 
acre. 

Dairying is the leading industry on this type of soil as it is 
on all the soils throughout Polk county. The value of dairy 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 53 

products from the farm on this type is more than that of the 
grain crops raised. 

Stock raising is also important, the principal stock sold from 
the farm being cattle and hogs, with sheep relatively unimpor- 
tant. 

The principal dairy product is creamery butter, though cheese 
is the principal product in the Farmington area. The cream is 
quite generally separated on the farm. Besides supplying local 
creameries, large shipments of cream and milk are sent to St. 
Paul and Minneapolis. 

This soil type is well adapted to dairying. Silos are common 
and indicate a progressive dairy system. The grade of dairy 
stock is gradually being improved, but more attention should be 
paid to this subject, and more rapid improvements made. The 
improvement of dairy stock is very important and is well worth 
the closest attention by the farmer. 

The practice of extensive dairying on this type has kept up 
the soil to a good grade of fertility as is shown by the good 
yields of grain. 

Land Values. — The farm lands on this type are of good value. 
Unimproved land is generally held at $20 to $30 per acre. Im- 
proved land is usually held at $60 to $80 per acre. Most of the 
land of this type has already been divided into farms, though 
a large percentage of the farm area is still uncleared. 

THORNAPPLE SANDY LOAM. 

Area. — The Thornapple sandy loam is mainly within Kusk and 
Chippewa counties, the largest area mapped being in the town 
of Thornapple, Rusk county. It is typically developed on the 
so-called ''Peninsula" between the Flambeau and Chippewa 
rivers. The boundaries fixed for this soil formation on the map 
are only approximate. Within these soil areas as mapped are 
several phases of sandy loam^, but owing to the fact that largf^ 
portions of this area are not well settled, exact boundaries could 
not be located with any degree of accuracy. 

Surface Features. — While in a general way the surface of this 
soil is nearly level to undulating, there as areas which are hilly, 
having a sort of choppy appearance. The uneven tracts are 
characterized by small knob-like elevations and some depres- 



54 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



sioiis. Marshes and lakes are common features within the gen- 
eral area of this soil. 

The surface of this soil was determined largely by the ice 
which moved over this tract. The erosion by streams thus far 
has not caused much change in the original topography left 
after the deposition of the glacial drift sheet. 

Forest. — Most of this soil was originally covered with forest 
trees, consisting mainly of black oak, and white pine. Within 
the general area are ridges of heavier soil which developed good 
stands of hardwoods. The heavy pine timber has been cut, and 
aside from a few hard wood ridges yet remaining, the area is 
now mainly covered with a thicket of poplar, birch, small oak, 
and pin cherry. On the level areas where the soil is sandier, 
thick brush and sweet ferns are common. 

Soil. — Both the surface soil and subsoil are sandy loam, con- 
sisting of a large proportion of fine to coarse sand and a small 
proportion of silt and clay. The surface soil to a depth of six 
or eight inches contains sufficient organic material to give it a 
medium dark to grayish color. The subsoil is light colored, 
grayish to yellowish, and consists mainly of sand with a little 
clay to a considerable depth. 

The results of the mechanical analysis of the soil and subsoil 
are shown in the f ollomng table : 



Table XV. — Mechanical anah/sis of Tliornai^ple sandy loam. 



No. 


Location. 


Descrip- Fine 
tion. gravel. 


Coarse 
sand. 


Me- 
dium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 
fine 

sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


16+ 


Rusk Co 


Soil 

Soil 

Subsoil. . 


1.1 
.1 

4 


28.2 
15.1 
13.6 


22.7 
23.5 
23.3 


15.7 
3>.8 
33.8 


5.6 
11.1 
10.1 


20.3 
13.6 
14.6 


6.5 


IrtS 


Rusk Co 


5.9 


163 


Rusk Co 


4.6 

















There are slight variations from the general type. The level 
stretches along the rivers are nearly flat, mostly pine land, and 
the soil contains much coarse sand. Over the undulating areas, 
some stone occurs and there is a larger proportion of fine sand 
and silt in the soil, and hardwood forest mixed with the pine 
was developed. 

Agriculture. — The soil is well adapted to dairying and to the 
raising of such grains as oats, buckwheat, and barley. Corn 
has been raised and matured successfully. The soil may be 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 55 

worked earlier in spring than the heavier soils and is not apt to 
be cold in spring months when corn wants a warm seed bed. 
There is, however, some danger from drought on sandy phases 
during dry season on account of porous nature of the soil. 

Tobacco and potatoes are grown with good results. Clover 
hay yields plentifully. Alfalfa and mammoth clover should be 
gro"v\Ta on this soil. So far little has been attempted in the way 
of growing alfalfa and other special crops. 

Only a small percentage of the area of this soil is now under 
cultivation. The farms already developed are in a thrifty con- 
dition and prove the soil well adapted to general agriculture 
with dairying and potato raising as the principal industries. 

Land Values. — The open land is more easily cleared than th-^ 
dense hardwood areas. The wild land is generally held at $10 
to $20 per acre, and the cleared land generally from $40 to $60 
per acre. 

GUSHING LOAMS. 

Area. — The Gushing loams lie in the western part of Polk and 
St. Croix counties. They lie wholly within the area of the un- 
dulating terminal moraines of the latest drift sheet. 

Swr^face. — The surface of this soil is more or less hilly, with 
low hills associated with depressions, lakes and ponds. The 
topography is the characteristic terminal moraine topography, 
with abrupt basins and steeply sloping ridges. Surrounding 
many of the lakes, and also adjacent to streams are many small 
marshes, most of which are too small to be shown on the map. 

Throughout the area, are many nearly level areas which are 
usually either quite sandy or quite clayey. Stone and boulders 
are more common in the uneven lands than over tilie level tracts, 
but some of the low and marshy tracts are also stony. The 
stones are not usually so abundant as to interfere seriously with 
agriculture. 

Native Forest. — This soil was quite generally covered with a 
dense growth of hardwoods, pine, and hemlock. As elsewhere in 
this region, the pine has been wholly cut. The hardwoods and 
hemlock remain only in isolated tracts. The hardwoods were 
chiefly maple, oak, elm, birch, and basswood. On the lighter 
phases of the loam the white pine predominated, while on the 
heavier soil the hardwoods were most abundant. 



de 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Soil. — The surface eight inches of this soil consists generally 
of a loam. From eight to twenty-four inches the subsoil becomes 
more clayey and also carries a larger content of gravelly ma- 
terial than the surface soil. 

This soil, however, varies considerably both in the surface and 
subsurface layers. Some tracts contain a large percentage of 
medium and fine sand and are a sandy loam. These sandy 
areas are usually rolling though in some places adjoining stream 
bottoms the surface is more nearly level and also more sandy. 

The soil is derived from the weathering of glacial drift in 
Avhich limestone debris is generally an abundant constituent. 
This soil area therefore is confined to that part of the region con- 
taining limestone bearing drift, or is within the general area in 
which limestone is the prevailing underlying rock. 

A large area of hilly, sandy loam occurs in the town of Somer- 
set in St. Croix county and around Dresser Junction in Polk 
county. 

Another variety of soil with a high content of clay and silt 
occurs in patches here and there within the tract mapped as 
Gushing loam. These areas are less undulating and somewhat 
stony in places but are generally well improved. In Polk 
county, southM-est of Clayton, in Black Brook, and in Alden, 
south of Little Falls, are areas of these heavy loams. In the 
preliminary soil mapping done here neither the sandy nor the 
clayey phases of the loam have been separated from one another. 
To do so with any degree of accuracy would require a very de- 
tailed survey. 



Table XVI. — Mechanical analysis of Gushing loams. 



No. 


Location. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
gravel. 


Coarse 
sand. 


Me- 
dium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Ver.y 

fine 

sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


138 


Polk Co 

Polk Co 


Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 


.0 
.1 

.7 
.5 
.1 
.0 
.5 


5.1 
5.7 
9.5 
6.9 
12.6 
13.2 
9.6 
8.4 


4.7 
5.4 
9.3 
8.6 
15,4 
12 9 
8.6 
7.8 


16.0 
6.4 
18.3 
18.2 
16 2 
14.2 
9.5 
8.8 


11.2 
18.9 
25.4 
21.8 
10.7 
13.4 
21.8 
24.5 


62.5 
45.5 
26.5 
26.4 
35.8 
31.3 
43.3 
36.2 


10.4 

1" 8 


14^ 


Polk Co.. 


10 2 


142 
151 

151 
127 
127 


PolkCo 

Polk Co 

PolkCo 

St. Croix Co 

St. Croix Co 


17.6 
8.9 

1,4.4 
6.4 

13.8 



AgriculUire.'—l^\\e, Cushing loams are well adapted to general 
agriculture. They are especially well adapted to dairying and 
stock raising. The summer rainfall. is usually abundant and 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 57 

grains and hay do exceptionally well. Sheep raising is quite 
important in the towns of Alden and Black Brook. Dairying 
is now the leading industry and will probably increase in im- 
portance in the future. Clover, timothy, and alfalfa do excep- 
tionally well for hay crops. 

In portions of soutlieast Folk county hay is sold at present in 
large quantities from the farm^. It is usually baled directly 
from the held or from stacks later in the season. This system 
of selling hay from the farm is not altogether commendable 
unless concentrated feed for stock is imported. The better way 
is to adapt the farm practice so that the hay and forage crops 
are fed directly on the farm and the dairy product and live 
stock sold. This system of farm management of course, would 
require more work and skill, but on the other hand, the fertility 
of the soil could be maintained and increased by the application 
of manure from the stock, and the value of the farms increased. 

The distance from market should ako be considered in adopt- 
ing systems of farming. Long hauls over heavy roads has the 
tendency to reduce farm produce to as concentrated a form as 
possible. For this reason, many farmers' co-operative cream- 
eries have been established. In southern Polk fewer creameries 
have been organized than cheese factories. 

Oats are the most important grain crop and the average yield 
is 35 to 45 bushels per acre. Wheat is grown quite extensively, 
the yield on the heavier loams with high content of limestone 
being 18 to 20 bushels per acre, while on the lighter sandy loams 
the average yield is about 15 bushels. Barley on the heavier 
limesstone soil generally yields about 30 to 35 bushels per acre, 
and on the lighter sandy soil from 25 to 30 bushels. The corn 
crop is about as abundant as wheat or barley, the usual yields 
being from 30 to 35 bushels per acre. In Farmington and 
Osceola considerable corn is grown for silage. The potato is 
also an important crop, the usual yield being about 100 bushels 
per acre. The yield of hay is about one and one-half tons per 
acre. 

Land Values. — The area of this soil is fairly well settled and 
a relatively large proportion of the land, probably 25 to 35 per 
cent, is under cultivation. Uncleared land is generally held at 
$15 to $25 per acre, and cleared land at $50 to $80 per acre. 
Quite often, however, farms Avell located and in a high state of 
cultivation are sold for more than $80 per acre. 



58 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WlSCONSW. 



RICE LAKE LOAM. 

Area. — The Rice Lake loams are in bodies varying from five 
square mile3 to twenty square miles in extent, and are located 
in nearly all the counties of this area. The largest continuous 
tracts occur in the vicinity of Eice Lake and Barron in Barron 
county, and about Rusk in Dunn county. Another large area 
is in southwestern St. Croix county. East of Hudson this soil 
area is known as Hudson Prairie, north of Richmond as Star 
Prairie, near Chippewa Falls as Eagle Prairie and west of Eau 
Claire as Truax Prairie. Other small areas occur as indicated 
on the map. The total area includes about 328,000 acres. 

Surface. — The soil is confined to the valleys, and is typical 
valley bottom land. The surface of this formation is uniformly 
level, with some portions quite flat. See Fig. 1, Plate X. Here 
and there small depressions may be found, some of which are 
occupied by small lakes. Some marshes and wet land are asso- 
ciated with this type, but the marshes are usually small and are 
not indicated on the map. 

Forest. — In the area about Rice Lake in Barron county and 
about Eagleton in Chippewa county there was a rather dense 
growth of mixed hardwoods and pine. The hardwoods were 
mainly maple, oak, elm, and some basswood. Besides the white 
pine, there was some Norway pine and hemlock. 

Farther west in Dunn and St. Croix counties, the native vege- 
tation consisted largely of a light stand of scrub oak poplar, 
some birch and pine. In most cases the clearing of this thinly 
forested land was a comparatively easy matter for the early 
settlers. 

Soil. — The Rice Lake loams vary from a fine sandy loam and 
loam to silt loam. Most of the soil, however, is a fine sandy 
loam or loam, and only in a small proportion of the area is silt 
loam. See Fig. 2, Plate X. 

In general the surface eight inches is a loam carrying sufficient 
organic matter to produce a medium dark color. The subsoil is 
a sandy to silty loam to a depth of 1 to 3 feet, grading into 
gravel and sand. In places the gravel and sand subsoil lies very 
near the surface, less than a foot of loam overlying it. The 
surface soil also shows some variations, and grades from dark 
sandy loam to a brown, silty loam. 



Wisconsin Suevet. 



Bulletin XXIII, Pl. X. 




Pig. 1. TOBACCO FIELD ON RICE LAKE LOAM. EAGLE PRAIRIE, CHIPPEWA 

COUNTY. 










Fig. 2. SECTION OF RICE LAKE LOAM, NEAR CAMPIA, BARRON COUNTY. 
TYPE OF ALLUVIAL SOIL. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 



59 



This soil about Rice Lake and Barron, in Barron county, and 
in the area about Eagleton and Bloomer in Chippewa county, 
contains small areas of the heavier silt loam, but much the larger 
proportion in the:e localities is a fine sandy loam or loam. In 
eastern Eau Claire county in the valleys of Thompson's Creek, 
and Bear Grass Creek, silt loams predominate while in the vaJ 
leys farther Avest fine sandy loams are the prevailing type. Silt 
loams ako predominate in the simall valleys on the west side of 
the Eau Galle river in the town of Eau Galle and Weston in 
Dunn county. Outside of the localities referred to, the soil 
mapped as this type is a fine sandy loam or loam. 

The results of the mechanical analyses of the soil and subsoil 
are shown in the following table : 

Table XVII. — Mechanind analy.^is of Rice Lake, loams. 



No. 



6 
6 
108 
108 
124 
124 
155 
155 
157 
157 



Locality. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Chippewa Co 

Chippewa Co 


Soil 

SuljsoU... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil. . . 


Dunn Co 


St. Croix Go 

St. Crol.v Co 

Barron Co 

Barron Co 

Eau Claire Co 

Eau Claire Co.... 



Fine 
g-ravel. 



Coarse 
sand. 



12.5 
11.3 
18.0 
11.9 
11.9 
11.5 
20.0 
20.1 
3.5 
2.4 



Me- 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 




dium 
sand. 


fine 
sand. 


Silt. 


11.4 


9.1 


7.2 


46.8 


11.9 


10.4 


5.7 


47.1 


14.3 


10.0 


9.0 


32.3 


14.3 


12.1 


10.4 


29.8 


9.8 


9.0 


13.9 


35.2 


9.0 


8.9 


18.9 


33.5 1 


14.9 


9.1 


4.0 


36.3 


14.7 


11.3 


8.8 


28.7 


6.5 


8.1 


10.5 


59.2 


4.3 


5.4 


10.1 


64.0 



Clay. 



12.4 
13.2 
14.8 
15.1 
19.3 
17.3 
14.2 
15.4 
11. 9 
13. 8 



This soil is uniformly free from boulders, and practically all 
of it can be brought under cultivation. It is very largely under 
improvement in many of the areas. The dark sandy loams like 
that of Rusk Prairie and Pludaon Prairie were easily brought 
under the plow and have long been under cultivation. The 
heavier phases of the soil do not contain a very high percentage 
of clay and are not sticky when wet and do not bake when dry. 
Where the land is nearly level some complaint is made on new 
land that the soil is cold in the spring, but this difficulty will 
probably be overcome after the land is cultivated more and the 
soil more thoroughly aerated. Some of the level tracts, how- 
ever, will probably require tile drainage to bring them up to a 
proper state of fertility. 

Chemical analyses of composite samples of the surface eight 
inches of the soil show it to be well supplied with potassium, with 



Co SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

a fair amount of nitrogen, and Avitli a fair amount of phos- 
phorus. 

Extreme acidity has developed on much of this soil in Dunn 
and St. Croix counties. From a large number of actual fer- 
tilizer tests of acid soils, it has been shown that soils in an acid 
condition require phosphate fertilizer to insure best results. 
The Wi&consin Experiment station carried on considerable ex- 
perimental work with acid soils, and results are published in 
Bulletin No. 139, showing quite conclusively that corn growing 
in acid soils made more rapid growth and developed more 
fully when a fartilizer was added which contained phosphorus, 
either alone or in combination with potash or nitrogen, than 
when phosphate was omitted and the potash and nitrogen alone 
v/ere added either singly or in combinations. The supply of 
nitrogen can be maintained by judicious seeding of clover and 
alfalfa crops. At the present time but little of the latter valu- 
able legume is being raised. Red clover does well as a rule. 

In a dairy country, where bran or other concentrated food 
stuffs are commonly purchased, and wdiere the manure is care- 
fully cared for and little loss incurred from barnyard leaching 
and in handling, the supply of phosphorus can be maintained. 
This has been found true in older dairy sections of the state. 
Where the purchase of feed stuffs is impracticable, the phos- 
phorus supply can be increased for large crops by the purchase 
of this element in the form of commercial fertilizers, as explained 
elsewhere. 

Agriculture. — This soil has developed into one of the best 
general farming soils of the region. The common grains are all 
grown to a variable extent wdth good average returns. In the 
western part of the region in Dunn, Polk, and St. Croix counties 
on the thinly forested or prairie tracts, this soil was cropped to 
grain, especially wheat, for many years. The grain yields, how- 
ever, after a few years decreased, and 20 to 30 bushels of wheat 
per acre became the exception instead of the rule. The causes 
that led to the decrease in yield were partly due to soil condi- 
tion, and partly to the chinch bug. The result was that other 
grains, such as barley, rye, oats, and corn were tried and a rota- 
tion practiced. Clover became a crop that occupied the land a 
portion of the time. Stock raising became more general, espe- 
cially for dairy purposes and during the last 15 years a marked 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 61 

increase in dairy and live stock production has taken place. 
The census statistics show the increase in dairy products to have 
been very marked, during the last ten years through all the 
countries. On the whole this is a very desirable change as far 
as it concerns the maintenance of a good state of agriculture on 
this soil. 

The present yield of wheat is about 12 to 18 Inishels per acre, 
of oats 35 to 40 bushels, rye 32 to 15 bushels, of barley 30 to 
35 bushels, and corn 25 to 35 bushels. The potato is usually 
an important crop, the avearge yield being 100 to 150 bushels 
per acre. 

Special crops have developed to considerable extent north and 
northwest of River Falls, on the area northwest of Eau Claire 
known as Truax Prairie, and north of Chippewa on Eagle 
Prairie. The special crops are potatoes, tobacco, cabbage, can- 
ning peas, sweet corn, sugar beets, and small fruit. Peas for 
canning are extensively grown on this soil about Rice Lake, 
Campia, and Barron. An attractive market near by and soil 
adapted to such crops are doing much to increase the revenues 
from farming. 

"Where these special cultivated crops are grown to a large ex- 
tent year after year, the rotation must include some crop that 
^Y]\l replenish the organic matter which is removed by a system 
of special crops. Red clover or rye are excellent crops to plow 
down and allow to decay. The clover also serves the pui'pose 
of enriching the soil in nitrogen, one of the elements that special 
crops like peas and corn require in large amounts. The pea 
crop, although a leguminous crop, contributes but a small 
amount of nitrogen to the soil, its root system being very limited 
as compared to that of clover. 

The location of these tracts near to towns of considerable size 
makes it possible to purchase manure from livery stables and 
elsewhere. "Where this can be purchased at reasonable price it 
makes good fertilizing material although there is danger that 
fields so fertilized wall become infested with noxious weeds. 
The system of farming, w^here such crops as peas are raised, is 
especially conducive to a rapid spread of weeds even where no 
manure from cities is applied. This is an added reason why 
rotation is desirable, involving clover and oats where these can 
be fed profitably to stock, either to sheep or to dairy cattle. 



62 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

This probably is the preferable method of maintaining soil fer- 
tility on these areas, where special crops are remunerative and 
adapted to the soil condition. Corn is grown extensively in the 
Farmington area and to some extent in other portions of Polk 
county. In Barron county corn has not been grown so exten- 
sively on this soil. 

Fertilizer requirements become of much importance in some 
of these special crop areas. Tobacco, cabbage, and potatoes and 
sugar beets are heavy feeders of potassium and where these 
crops are raised in considerable quantities, fertilizers rich in 
potassium are needed. Potassium sulphate at the rate of 150 
to '175 pounds per acre will be sufficient for the special crops 
grown. The better and more economical Avay for the farmer is 
to purchase fertilizers for his particular crop requirement rather 
than to buy the complete fertilizer already mixed by the manu- 
facturer, as the latter fertilizer often contains elements with 
which the soil is already well supplied. 

While all grains receive more or less attention, the dairy in- 
dustry is rapidly becoming much more important than grain 
raising; and while some grain is sold from the farm, the lead- 
ing exports are dairy products and live stock. On most of this 
soil, the dairy product is cream sent to the local creamery. 
Farmers usually, separate the milk on the farm. In Farming- 
ton, the cheese factories make American cheese, while in Rice 
Lake and Turtle Lake, the manufacture of brick cheese is more 
important. 

Land Values. — Farm values on this soil are relatively high, 
the soil in general being well adapted to agriculture. Wild land 
is probably held at $20 to $30 per acre. Improved lands are 
sold at $50 to $100 per acre, the average prices being from $70 
to $90 per acre. Well organized dairy farms, and farms de- 
voted partly to special crops, especially to peas, command the 
highest prices. 

CHETEK SANDY LOAM. 

Area. — ^The Chetek sandy loam is in irregular areas border- 
ing some of the large rivers and streams. It occurs in small 
tracts in every county except Rusk and Polk, the largest tract 
being in Barron county. In the entire area it includes about 
230,000 acres, As a general rule this soil is associated with 




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DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 



63 



areas of the Sterling sand. Along the Red Ceder river in Bar- 
ron county the close association of these two soils is well illus- 
trated. 

Surface. — The surface of this soil formation is nearly level, 
similar to that of the Sterling sand ; but the surface is not quite 
so level in general as that of the latter, more areas within this 
type being someAvhat slightly rolling. See Plate XI. In a few 
places around Cameron and east of Chetek, the soil is somewhat 
stony. 

Native Forest. — The forest growth was mainly Jack pine with 
some white and black oak. As a rule the stand of timber was 
fairly dense. 

Soil. — The Chetek sandy loam is a medium sandy loam to 
depth of eight inches. The surface soil contains considerable 
coarse and medium sand and is fairlj^ well supplied with or- 
ganic matter, giving it a medium dark color. The subsoil con- 
tains less organic matter and more coarse sand and gravel ma- 
terial than the surface soil as a rule. 

The results of the mechanical analyses of this soil and sub- 
soil from Barron and Chippewa counties are shown in the fol- 
lowing table : 

Ilechanical coialyses of Ghetek sandy loam. 



No. 


Locality. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
gravel. 


Coarse 
sand. 


Me- 
dium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 

fine ' Silt, 
sand. 


Clay. 


160 

]60 

10 

10 


Barron Co 

Barron Co 

Chippewa Co 

Chippewa Co 


Soil 

Subsoil... 
Soil... 

Subsoil... 


.1 
.2 
.2 

.4 


25.5 
25.4 

28.1 
• 20.T 


23.6 
24.2 
22.0 
23.4 


16.5 

18.7 
14 6 
]6.8 


2.0 
2.8 
2.9 
2.6 


22.6 
18.5 
21.2 

28. T 


9.1 
9.6 
11.0 
7.4 



Around Cameron and east of Chetek, small boulders are asso- 
ciated with the surface soil but not in sufficient number to in- 
terfere with cultivation. Around River Falls, in Pierce county, 
this type shows variations, to a sandy loam and to muck. These 
heavier soil bodies are usually too small to be separated on the 
general soil map. Some of this soil in the bottom lands is only 
a few feet deep to the bed rock. 

Agriculture. — The principal crops grown on this soil are oats, 
rye, com, potatoes, and hay. Corn can be relied upon to ripen 
on this soil in Barron county as it permits planting earlier in 



64 SOIL SURVEY OF 1\t0RTHWE STERN WISCONSIN. 

the spring than the heavier upland soils. The yield of oats is 
25 to 35 bushels per acre, of corn 20 to 30 bushels. Potatoes 
are an important crop en this soil about Cameron and Chetek, 
the average yield being 100 to 150 bushels per acre. The yield 
of hay is generally from 1 to ly^ tons per acre. 

The soil is well adapted to combination farming in Avhich live- 
stock and dairying should be most important. In order to 
maintain the fertility of sand or sandy loam soil, the keeping of 
abundant stock on the farms is of more importance than on the 
heavier soils. Manure, if sufficient amounts can be obtained, 
has always been the best fertilizer for the farmer. Besides sup- 
plying fertilizing material, it improves the physical condition of 
the soil as no commercial fertilizer can. AVhere manure cannot 
be purchased from outside sources, the farmer should arrange 
his system of farming so as to include dairy cows and such other 
live stock as is best adapted to his farming conditions. If this 
is not feasible, commercial fertilizer may be needed. 

Clover has been grown on this soil with good success, and 
ought to be a more general crop. This soil is quite acid or 
■'sour" as a rule and may require application of ground lime- 
stone where difficulty is experiences in obtaining a catch of 
clover. (See pages 71-2.) Alfalfa will do well when once a 
stand is obtained. These leguminous crops should occupy the 
land one to two years during the four year rotation period. The 
supply of total nitrogen in this soil, similar to that of nearly 
every sandy soil, is lielow the average. The growing of clover 
is the cheapest method for the farmer to replenish his soil with 
this valuable plant food constituent. 

Special crops, such as tobacco, cucumbers, sweet corn, and 
peas are being grown, successfully, on limited areas of this soil 
about Chetek and Chippewa Palls. Where good markets are 
conveniently located, this soil ought to pay well, for it is an ex- 
cellent truck soil. 

Land Valves. — Most of the soil of this type has been divided 
up into farms for a number of years. Uncleared land is gen- 
erally held at. $10 to $20 per acre. Improved land in a fair 
state of cultivation is generally held at $30 to $60 per acre. The 
farms devoted to dairying and to the special crops, peas, corn, or 
tobacco, command th^ highest prices. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 65 



MERIDEAN SANDY LOAM. 



Area.— This soil mainly occupies the bottom lands lying along 
the lower Chippewa, Red Cedar, and Eau Galle rivers. The 
width' of this bottom land \'aries from a narrow strip to a belt 
1 mile to 2 miles wide. This soil is the lowest river bottom land 
and is about five to fifteen feet above the level of the river. 

Surface. — The surface of this type is nearly level. Here and 
there are small undulating tracts. The shifting of the Chip- 
pewa river in place3 has cut off portions of its former river bed, 
thus forming small ponds in the abandoned river channel. 
"Where marshes are found these are generally associated with 
cut-offs formed in this way. 

Forest. — Practically all the forest growth has been removed 
from this soil. In scattered areas only are stands of elm, maple, 
ash and a few oak remaining. On the most sandy phases of this 
soil scrub oak and some pine were developed. 

Soil. — ^The soil on these lower bottoms is usually sandy loam 
though it varies considerably. The surface eight inches contains 
considerable coarse and fine sand with small amount of clay 
material. The subcoil becomes snndier with more coarse and 
gravelly material. As a rule the surface soil carries a fair 
amount of organic matter and has a rather dark color. 

While a large proportion of the river bottoms are light sandy 
loams, there are important areas of limited extent of heavier 
soil that differ markedl}^ from the light sandy loam described 
above. This heavier soil is located along the Chippewa river 
in Dunn county in the vicinity of Carj^ville and Meridean, form- 
ing an area of about 15 to 20 square miles in all. Farther up 
the river in Eau Claire county in Sees. 4, 5, 8, 9, T. 26, R. 10, 
is another small tract. The surface eight inches on these more 
fertile areas is a fine sandy loam with some clayey material and 
high organic matter as evidenced by the dark color. The sub- 
soil, eight to twenty-four inches, is made up of sandy soil 
lighter in color but also carrying a fairly high content of or- 
ganic matter. 

The results of the mechanical analyses of the heavier loam 
soil and subsoil are shown in the following table ; 



C6 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Table XVIII. — Mechanical analynes of Meridean sandy loam. 



No. 


Locality. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
ffravel. 


Coarse 
sand. 


Me- 
dium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 
fine 
sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


U 

11 

112 

iia 


Eau Claire Co.... 
Eau Claire Ou — 

Dunn Co 

Dunn Co 


Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil. . . 


.5 

.1 
.0 
2 

■ 


18.2 
Hj.5 
12.5 
12. a 


23.7 
23.9 
17.2 
16.8 


24.4 
2tj.l 

20.7 
21.9 


9.6 
10.0 
17.8 
19.9 


13.7 
14.6 
23.3 
20.5 


9.7 
8.5 
8.2 
8.1 



Crops. — The heavier phase of Meridean sandy loam is being 
devoted to general farming including dairying and some grain 
raising, chiefly oats. Tame hay yields well, and corn is one of 
the best crops grown. At Meridean many silos have been built 
and the dairy interests supports a thriving creamery at this 
point. 

The heavy phase of this soil in Eau Claire county is devoted 
to special crops and found to be very profitable. The leading 
special crops grown, are cabbage, sugar beets, sweet corn, pota- 
toes, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The yields of these crops dur^ 
ing 1909 seemed to warrant more extensive development. The 
cjuestion of the best means of fertilizing is very important in 
connection with the raising of special crops. Stable manure 
from Eau Claire has .been shipped in and used by farmers on this 
soil. This is the best all-around fertilizer, but for certain crops, 
like cabbage and potatoes which require much potassium it will 
be more economical to buy this particular element in a com- 
mercial fertilizer. A commercial phosphate fertilizer also may 
be better than manure in some cases. 

All the soil along the bottoms was found to be acid, indi- 
cating a general need of lime either as ground limestone or air- 
slaked lime. Clover can be raised on this type with good re- 
sults and should be maintained in the rotation of crops. 

On the sandy phase of this bottom soil mixed farming is con- 
ducted. The grains are mainly oats, rye, and some buckwheat. 
Potatoes and corn yield well. Some of this soil, however, is 
practically non-agricultural, due to the poor physical condi- 
tion of the soil resulting from lack of drainage. For example 
a large part of the wet and marshy bottom land from Meridean 
to Durand on both sides of the Chippewa river is at present of 
little value agriculturally. 



[ 



DESCRIPTION OF THE 80ILS. 67 

Land values. — The farm values along the river bottoms are 
quite variable. Most of this land is held at $25 to $50 per acre. 
However, farms on which dairying, stock-raising or truck rais- 
ing are the leading features command prices from $50 to $100 
per acre. 

Sterling Sand. 

Area. — The Sterling sand is typically developed in the central 
and western parts of the town of Sterling in northwestern Polk 
county. This locality is often referred to as "'Sterling Prairie" 
because of its level surface and the general absence of forest 
trees. 

This sandy soil area in the town of Sterling is a part of tlift 
large belt of so-called ''barrens" or "plains" which is mainly 
confined to the vicinity of the St. Croix river and its tributaries, 
particularly the Nemakagon, Totogatig, Yellow, and Clam riv- 
ers. As outlined in a general way by Strong ^ this sandy plain 
is a linear tract having an average width of 12 to 15 miles, 
stretching from a point about 12 miles from the Bayfield penin- 
sula nearly due southwest to the mouth of "Wolf Creek in Polk 
county, a distance of 125 miles. This tract is joined by a taper- 
ing belt on the east lying along the Nemakagon river. 

Besides the area of sandy soil in the town of Sterling, which 
is a part of the so-called "barrens" there are ciuite similar sandy 
soils within the area described in this report which may be 
conveniently classed mth this type. The largest and most 
prominent of these areas is the large tract of sandy soil along 
the Eau Claire river in Eau Claire county. Other smaller 
areas, as indicated on the soil map, are along some of the small 
streams in southern Eau Claire county, and in eastern Pepin 
county. There is also a considerable area of this type north of 
the Chippewa river in the town of Spring Brook, Dunn county, 
and another along the IMississippi river in the vicinity of Pepin 
and Hager. 

Surface. — ^The surface of this type of soil is uniformly near- 
ly level. In many places, however, the nearly level surface is 
broken by the occurrence of ridges of wind blown sand, "sand 
dunes," and in other places by narrow valleys cut by streams 
and by small sags or depressions left by glacial action. In 



I aeol. of Wis. Vol. Ill, p. 386. 



68 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

places this type of soil is elosey associated with marshes and 
wet sandy land. 

Native YegeiaUon. — This type of soil was originally only 
sparsely covered with forest trees. Considerable areas were 
practically free from timber, Avhile other areas were covered 
with a light growth of jack-pine, aspen, and occasionally Nor- 
way pine. Other areas were covered with burr oak, black oak, 
and Avhite oak brush with occasional trees of these species. The 
common "brake" and "sweet fern" are usually pre:ent on this 
soil. 

Groundwater Conditions. — -The depth to the level of ground 
water in this sandy soil is variable. In the town of Sterling in 
northwestern Polk, the wells are generally from 20 to 40 feet 
deep. In eastern Eau Claire county the ground water level is 
generally quite near the surface, except immediately adjacent 
to the Eau Claire river. In many places in eastern Ean Claire 
the general water level is only from 10 to 15 feet below the sur- 
face and where this condition prevails the agricultural possibil- 
ities of the soil is enhanced. Along the Chippewa and Mississ- 
ippi rivers the water level is generally from 40 to 80 feet below 
the surface. 

The lack of forest growth on this soil is largely determined, 
very probably, by lack of moisture in the subsoil. 

8oil. — The Sterling sand in its typical development consists 
mainly of medium s?nd somewhat brownish and dark at the 
surface, grading down to lighter colored sand. In places a 
gravelly subsoil is struck at depth of two or three feet, but 
generally the subsoil is medium to coarse sand to a consider- 
able depth. The mechanical analyses of representative samples 
of this soil from various localities are shown in the following 
table : 



DESCRIPTIOX OF THE SOILS. 



T VBLE XIX. — Mechanical analyses of Sterling sand. 



No. 


Locality. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
travel 


Coarse 
sand. 


Me- 
dium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 
fine 
sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


145 


PollvCo.,T.36, R. 
19 


Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Suljsoil... 


.0 
.3 

1.1 
.0 
.3 
.4 
.7 
.6 


5.9 

7.2 
12.4 
17.1 
20.8 
22.5 
15.4 
14.2 


22.4 
26.5 
13.5 

14.1 
24.8 
28.6 
27.7 
24.9 


46.5 
46.2 
44.0 
43.1 
33.6 
31.1 
34.5 
37.3 


15.7 
12.5 
17.4 
18.1 
5.7 
5.5 
9.2 
9.0 


4.9 
3.7 

7.8 
4.3 
7.0 
6.2 
7.8 
7.3 


4 2 


145 
15 
15 

106 


Polk Co.. T. 36, R. 

19 

Eau Claire Co., T. 

2ti. R. 6 

Eau Claire Co., T. 

26, R.6 

Dunn Co., T. 27, 

K. 11 


3.7 
4.6 
3.3 
6 9 


106 


Dunn Co., T. 27, 
R. 11 


Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 


6 1 


117 
117 


Pepin Co., T, 25, 
R. 13, 14 

Pepin Co., T. 25. 
R.13, 14 


5.0 
6.0 



The mechanical analyses of these samples from the several 
counties, are very similar to one another and are almost identical 
with the analysis of the Plainfield sand type of the U. S. Bureau 
of Soils classification. The Sterling sand is approximately the 
same type of soil as the AVisconsin river sandy soil described in 
the soil report of North Central Wisconsin.* 

The nitrogen and organic matter in the Sterling sand are 
relatively low, the chemical analysis showing about one-half 
the amount of these constituents in this type as occur in the 
loams and silt loams of the area. There is, however, a consider- 
able variation from place to pJace in the amount of organic 
matter. Some of this soil in Pepin county contains consider- 
able dark organic material in the surface three or four inches 
of soil. On the other hand along the Eau Claire river in east- 
ern Eau Claire county there is a large area characterized by its 
nearly white color, indicative of only a small amount of organic 
material in the surface soil. 

From the limited number of chemical analj^ses which have 
been made thus far it appears that these sandy soils are fairly 
well supplied with potassium while the supply of phosphorus 
is considerably less than in loam soils. 

Besides the smaller amounts of plant food in the sandy soils, 
which in many cases is in forms not available to plants, the 
lower grade of fertility of the soil type is due to the porous 



* Bull. 11 Wis. Survey, p. 17-20. 



70 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

texture of the soil, causing excessive leaching of soluble plant 
food, and to its incapacity to retain sufficient soil moisture for 
crop use during critical stages of plant growth. 

The Sterling sand, not alone along the Eau Claire river and 
along other rivers of the southern part of the area but also in 
the town of Sterling and the associated tract of "sand plains" 
or "barrens" of the upper St. Croix river and tributaries is a 
typical alluvial sand formation deposited by rivers. 

Eed lacustrine clays were observed along the St. Croix river 
just north of Nevers' dam, and at the mouth of Wolf Creek. 
In the continuation of the Sterling sand belt in Burnett county 
red lacustrine clays were observed about Grantsburg beneath 
the sand formation. Similar red calcarecus lacustrine clays 
were observed in some of the valleys of Eau Claire county. 
These lacustrine clays are essentially similar in character and 
origin to the red clays along Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, 
although these interior deposits are likely to contain a larger 
proportion of sand and silt than the clays occurring adjacent 
to the Great Lakes. 

Wherever these lacustrine red clays are associated with the 
sands and come near enough to the surface to contribute mater- 
ial to the surface soils and influence soil moisture phases of 
loams are developed having a higher grade of fertility than the 
uniformly deep sand soils. 

Agriculuhire. — This sandy alluvial soil, on account of its open 
porous character is subject to leaching of soluble plant food, 
and the rapid oxidation of organic matter. As a type it is 
probably the most infertile soil of the state. It is the only soil 
within this area in which abandoned farms have been observed. 
However, this soil type in other parts of the state and also 
within this area is being farmed with fair yields of crops under 
proper management. 

The principal grain crops grown on this soil are oats, rye, 
and com. The yield per acre is variable depending entirely on 
proper management of the soil. Where the state of fertility of 
the soil is maintained nearly as good average yields are obtained 
as on the loam soils. Special crops, such as sweet corn, pota- 
toes, and beans are well adopted to this soil type. The potato 
is an especially good crop, and yields of 100 to 150 bushels per 
acre are common. The bean is quite extensively grown on this 



t)i}SORIPTION OF THE SOILS. ^1 

type of soil in certain parts of Michigan and the acreage of 
this crop should be increased in this region. 

Dairying may be carried on profitably in conjunction with 
the special and grain crops mentioned above. "Where dairying 
is practised the principal forage crops are clover and corn, the 
latter often used as silage. Alfalfa can also be grown on this 
soil under proper soil conditions. 

Land Values. — The land values on this soil type are quite 
variable, depending largely on the conditions under which the 
farms are managed. Wild land is generally held at $5 to $10 
per acre. Land under cultivation is generally held at $10 to $30 
per acre with some farms under the very best management often 
selling above $30 per acre. 

Management of Sandy Soils. — The management* of sandy 
soils presents some of the most difficult problems confronting the 
farmer today and it is doubtful whether some of the abandoned 
farms on this soil will be reclaimed until the difference in cost 
of more productive soils of the state is greater than it is at 
present. Just as soon as the heavier loam soils are all taken, and 
values reach $100 or more per acre, the light sandy soils will 
be again brought under cultivation and made to produce such 
crops as are adapted to sandy soils. This is the condition at 
present in the older parts of this state and also abroad where 
large tracts of abandoned lands of sandy nature have been 
made productive under proper management. 

As already stated sandy soils are difficult to manage. In a 
fertilizer test on this soil a complete fertilizer produces the 
best results. Potash, however, in sufficient amounts is usually 
found in this area as shown by chemical analyses. 

The first step in the improvement of sandy soil is to increase 
the organic matter. Besides supplying nitrogen the water- 
iiolding capacity of the soil is increased by incorporation of 
vegetable matter. For this purpose clover is the best crop that 
the farmer can grow. This introduces a difficulty at once, for, 
as many farmers can well testify, to secure a catch is not an 
easy matter. Sandy soils are quite generally acid, and it has 
been found that clover prefers non-acid soils. Again, the sea. 
son may be too dry or the soil may be exhausted by long pre- 



* For a more complete discussion of the improvement of sandy soils, 
see Bulletin 204, Wis. Exp. Station, Madison, Wis. 



72 SOIL SURVEY OF WORTHWESTERN WI8C0N8W. 

vious cropping, so that an application of barnyard manure or 
commercial fertilizer is needed to give the young clover plant 
a start until it can appropriate nitrogen from the air. Where 
soil shows acidity, an application of ground limestone at the 
rate of one ton per acre will be fomicl beneficial. Air-slacked 
iime, marl or lime refuse from sugar beet factories are equally 
efficient. 

This ground limestone may be adde<l after the field is ready 
for planting, seeding to oats or rye being preferable, at the rate 
of six pecks per acre, and seeded with manmioth clover at the 
rate of 10 quarts per acre. If manure can be obtained it would 
help greatly to insure a stand if applied before seeding to grain 
at the rate of about four loads per acre. Should the season 
come off dry, it may be advisable to cut the grain green for hay 
in order to afford better moisture conditions for the clover 
seeding. 

If a stand is obtained, the first crop may be cut for hay and 
second crop either be plowed under or allowed to go to seed. 
If this second crop is plowed under an application of 1000 
pounds of ground rock phosphate per acre should be made. 
After the clover should follow a cultivated crop of corn or pota- 
toes. This cultivated crop is followed by grain again and seeded 
with clover as before. 

If conditions warrant the clover may be allowed to stand un- 
til the second year before being plowed under, thus making a 
four year rotation. At the beginning of this building up pro- 
cess, the three year rotation will perhaps be preferable. 

After this lieavy phosphate application, the amount added 
may be reduced and about one-fourth as much added once dur- 
ing a four year period. Tliis system has been found successful 
by the State Experiment Station on sandy soils similar to this 
type. Farmers should not. expect too much at the start, es- 
pecially if the soil has been cropped continuously for many years 
and little manure added. 

'These soils are well adapted to clovers, and alfalfa will also 
thrive. Some fine fields of red clover were observed on the 
light sandy soil along the Red Cedar river in Dunn county. The 
clover was grown for seed in this section and was one of the 
principal sources of income from the farms. Dairying was car- 
ried on in connection, and manure, applied systematically. The 
land in the area was cropped to grains and other crops about 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 73 

one-half the time, the remainder of the time given over to 
clover and pasture. It is needless to say that abandoned farms 
were not conspicuous in this locality. 

An experimental farm on light sandy soil at Spooner, Wash- 
burn county, was recently started by the State Experimental 
Station. An experimental farm on similar sand in Marinette 
county also has recently been organized. Practical results in 
the management of sandy soil will be worked out and reported 
as early as possible. 

HarttjAnd Silt Loam (Loess). 

Area. — The Hartland silt loam is principally in Pierce, Pepin 
and Dunn counties. The largest continuous area of this soil type 
forms a broad tract including nearly three-fourths of Pierce, 
more than one-half of Pepin and a long belt extending north- 
ward through the western townships of Dunn county. In Chip- 
pewa, county there is an area of over a township located in Til- 
den, northwest of Chippewa Falls. There is a small area of 
the loess soil type about Ludington in Eau Claire county. 
South of a line between Augusta and Fall Creek is the most 
extensive tract in Eau Claire county, embracing about two 
townships. The total area of this soil is about 556,000 acres. 

Surface Features- — The surface features of this formation are 
rolling or undulating, to hilly. See Plate XII. The surface 
inequalities are due chiefly to erosion of the underlying rock and 
the topography is often spoken of as an erosion or stream topo- 
graphy. No uniformity exists over any large area. For exam- 
ple adjacent to rivers or intermittent streams are areas ranging 
in width from one-half to three-fourths of a mile, which are 
likely to include considerable land that is rough and broken. 
This is especially the condition where the main rivers have 
eroded deep beds as is the case Avith most of the streams in 
Pierce and Pepin counties. Most of these d^eep channeled 
streams have developed extensive systems of short tributaries, 
nearly at right angles to the main stream and leading abruptly 
up to the adjacent uplands. These tributaries or feeders are 
dry runs except during rains or melting of the snow. In Chip- 
pewa and Eau Claire counties the streams channels are not as 
deep as those in Pierce, Pepin, and parts of Dunn, and conse- 
quently fewer of the extremel}^ undulating areas are found. 



74 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

Forests — Over a broad belt reacliing from the vicinity; of 
Prescott and extending along the south border of Pierce and 
Pepin an area of hard woods, mainly of oak was originally de- 
veloped. The stand was usually light and was referred to as 
"burr oak openings" by early settlers. At present no forest 
area of any extent remains on this tract except on the slopes or 
bottom lands. Similar forests of oak grew over the area north- 
Avest of Chippewa Falls, and in southeast Eau Claire county. 
In the remaining areas mixed hardwoods consisting of maple, 
oak, elm, and bass wood developed. Considerable pine and 
hemlock was associated with the hardwoods in southwest Dunn 
county and in eastern Chippewa county. 

At the present time the timber products of this soil area are 
of little importance as compared with the agricultural products. 
In the town of Weston, Dunn county, there is a tract of 7500 
acres of hardwood forest and a large saw mill is operated in that 
localitj'-. 

Soil. — The soil is a silt loam of medium dark buff color to a 
depth of six to eight inches. It is remarkably free from pebbles 
or stone, and possesses a characteristic smooth powdery feel. 
The mechanical analyses show that this soil is made up very 
largely of silt (grains whose diameters range between .05 to 
.005 mm) ; the clay content is usually low. The mechanical 
condition of the soil affects its physical properties profoundly. 
It can withstand heavy rainfall better than the heavier com- 
pact clay soils and does not bake or pack after rains. 

The soil on account of its porous nature is subject to leach- 
ing of its soluble plant food. On similar soils in Iowa large 
tracts were rendered infertile on account of the rapid decom- 
position of its organic matter, but as yet there appears no danger 
from this source here. Chemical analyses show an average high 
content of organic matter. The subsoil, below eight inches, is 
buff to yellow in color and remarkably uniform in structure. 
The clay content is somewhat higher in the subsoil than in the 
surface soil. Like the surface soil the subsoil contains no 
coarse material. 

The depth of the loess subsoil varies in the different areas. In 
Pierce and Pepin county the average depth is six to eight feet 
with some upland tracts much deeper. In eastern Chippewa 
this soil does not show the same degree of uniformity found in 



Wisconsin Sueyey. 



Bulletin XXIII, Pl. XIII. 




Ty 



Fiy. 1. SlOi'JloX OF AUBURN LOAM, 
pe of residual soil on slialy sandstone. Near Meuomonie, Dunn County. 




Fig. 2. SECTION OF HARTLAND SILT LOAM. 
Slio\YS two to four feet of loess OYerlyins shaly sandstone. On upland southeast of 

Chippewa Falls. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 



75 



the other areas. As a rule it is not as deep either. This soil 
in Pierce, Pepin and western Dunn counties is generally under- 
lain by limestone, and in the other counties by sandstone. The 
relation of the loess soil to the underlying sandstone is illustrated 
in fig. 2, Plate XIII. 

The results of the mechanical analyses of the soil and subsoil 
are shown in the following table : 





Table XX.- 


-Mechanical analyses of Hartland silt loam (L 


oess). 




No. 


Locality. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
gravel. 


Coarse 
sand. 


Me- 
dium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 
fine 
sand, 


Silt. 


Clay. 


118 


Pepin Co 


Soil 

Subsoil . . . 

Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 


.0 
.0 
.1 
.0 
.4 
.0 


.9 

.2 
1.3 

.1 
1.6 

.6 


.1 

.3 
1.4 

.2 
l'.4 

.5 


3.3 

2.1 

2.2 

.5 

7.2 
2.0 


18.7 
27.8 
22.1 
7.3 
27.5 
32.1 


65.1 
56.5 
62.1 
78.7 
51.8 
53.9 


11.5 


118 


Pepin Co 


13.0 


9 

9 

113 


Chippewa Co 

Chippewa Co — 
Dunn Co 


10.1 
12.9 
9.9 


113 


Dunn Co 


10.4 



The origin of this silty loam explains in a measure its uni- 
formity. This soil is "loess," and was deposited by wind carry- 
ing fine material from unprotected areas farther west. The loess 
soils are widespread over large portions of the Mississippi valley. 

On account of the uniform silty composition of this soil typo 
and its rolling character it is particularly susceptible to side 
hill erosion. The loss from this source may be considerable, de- 
pending on the slope and the kind of crop raised. Usually where 
ordinary care is taken destructive grdlying can be prevented, 
although many areas were observed that were badly cut up into 
large and small ditches. 

In general when the slope is steep it should remain in hay or 
meadow land most of the time, only plowing it up in order to 
reseed again. The crops raised also influence the liability of 
erosion. Areas planted to potatoes and corn are subject to most 
erosion. The best system to follow in farming the slopes is to 
crop with oats, wheat or barley, in rotation with clover. The 
slopes should remain in hay or meadow about two years out of a 
four or five year rotation — ^preferably two years out of four. 
Keeping the runways of water in sod has worked fairly satis- 
factory in some cases. On sloping clay soil in the southern 
states, furrows dug along at right angles to slope "terracing" 
have been found an efficient and cheap means of lessening slope 



76 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

erosion. These furrows are placed at intervals of about 100 
feet and connect Avith an outlet ditch down the slope at one end 
of the field. The sj^stem so constructed is maintained perma- 
nently though it offers some inconvenience in the use of farm 
machinery. 

Tiling similar uplands has been found advantageous, in re- 
ducing the loss from erosion. In sloping soils tile laid in the 
direction of slope six to eight rods apart increased the water 
holdng capacity and decreased the surface run-off very materi- 
ally. 

AgricuUure. — This soil type is especially well adapted to grain 
raising and to general farming in which dairy products are the 
important exports from the farm. Both these systems are being 
carried on on this soil type. Grain raising is confined princi- 
pally to the so-called ''prairie" tracts, the largest area of which 
extends along the southern border of Pierce and in Pepin coun- 
tie?. The grains raised are mainly oats and barley; less wheat 
is raised now than 15 years ago Avhen this section was well known 
as a Avheat grooving area. 

The areas originally forested with hardwoods have adopted 
combination farming, and here dairy products are in the lead. 
The grains, oats, barley and corn are raised and yield well, but 
do not form an appreciable portion of the exports. 

These two systems of farming differ radically in their influ- 
ence on keeping up the fertility of the soil. The grain farmer in 
the past has not concerned himself very much with principles 
of soil fertility, not alone in this area but in all grain raising 
sections of the country. Up to about 1890 the grain section of 
this soil type was devoted to wheat. No attempt at rotation was 
made and clover was grown in only limited areas. A shrinkage 
in yield and partial loss of crops in the early nineties resulted in 
less wheat being grown, and brought about a rotation involving 
the growing of a variety of grains such as oats, barley and some 
wheat. Clover also was more generally grown.' This system is 
practiced now and the leading grains are oats and barley; more 
live stock- is being kept and the stock furnishes needed fertilizer. 
Farmers, hoM'ever,' depend largely on clovers to enrich their 
soils and as a proof of increased fertility point to the fine yields 
now obtained. While clover is important, it adds but one of 
the plant food elements essential to crops, namely the element 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 77 

nitrogen. Besides supplying nitrogen, however, the clover also 
adds organic matter to the soil, and also improves the physical 
condition of the soil by its deep root system, permitting air and 
water to enter the soil more thoroughly. 

But while clover adds nitrogen and organic material to the 
soil, it removes large amounts of phosphorus like the grain crops. 
Barn yard manure, where it is available, adds phosphorus as 
well as nitrogen to the soil. But even where the manure is ob- 
tained from forage and grain crops grown on the farm, the 
supply of phosphorus is not increased but rather decreased due 
to the loss by leaching and otherwise in handling the manure. 

The grain farmer may, therefore, find it advisable to apply 
phosphorus to the soil which has been subjected to excessive or 
continuous cropping. The cheapest form in which to supply 
phosphorus is by application of the ground rock phosphate as 
explained in another place. An application of 800 to 1000 
pounds per acre to begin with and a light application of about 
250 pounds per acre thereafter, during each rotation period will 
usually be sufficient. Clover should occupy the land two years 
during a four or five year rotation with oats, barley or wheat. 

' The farmer who practices combination farming, in which live 
stock, dairy cows, fat stock, hogs, and sheep are kept, usually 
sells no grain from the farm and in addition usually purchases 
concentrated feed stuffs, such as bran which is high in phos- 
phorus content. The supply of nitrogen in the s.oil can be main- 
tained by growing of leguminous crops, such as clover. Potas- 
sium is an abundant element in this soil type as the chemical 
analyses of a large number of soils indicates. 

A larger acreage of this soil type in Pierce and Pepin is de- 
voted to barley than to oats, barley being the leading grain in 
these two counties. In the other counties, the oats are the prin- 
cipal grain raised on this soil. In Pierce and Pepin the average 
yield of barley is 30 to 35 bushels per acre. In the other coun- 
ties the yield is about 30 bushels, with the exception of the town 
of Lincoln in Eau Claire where 35 bushels is the average yield. 

The average yield of wheat is 15 to 18 bushels per acre, and 
of oats about 40 bushels per acre. The acreage of rye in some 
localities is equal to that of wheat, with an average yield of 15 
to 20 bushels per acre. The acreage of corn on this soil is less 
than that of barley or oats in Pierce and Pepin and less than 



78 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

oats and more than barley in Dunn, Chippewa and Eau Claire. 
The yield of corn per acre is generally from 30 to 35 bushels. 
Clover and timothy are the main crops for forage. In a few 
areas alfalfa has been tried. This soil is admirably adapted to 
alfalfa, and it ought to be more generally grown. 

Special Crops. — ^Similar silt loam soils have been found ad- 
mirably adapted to fruit culture in other states. In this area 
considerable fruit is now being grown, especially apples and 
some plums. The hill sides where erosion is troublesome are 
well adapted to fruit trees and grape vines. The fruit culture 
ought to be encouraged and more care given to the trees by 
spraying and pruning when needed. 

Land Values. — This type of soil is one of the most fertile in 
the entire region. Farm values therefore are relatively high, 
as they are elsewhere on the loess soils throughout the Mississippi 
Valley. "With few exceptions this soil has been laid out in farms 
for many years. Uncleared land, with little or no merchantable 
timber, is generally held at $20 to $40 per acre. Cleared land 
is generally held at $60 to $100 per acre. Farms on which 
dairying is the principle industry, as in Cook's Valley, Chippewa 
county, command higher prices than farms which have been de- 
voted mainly to grain raising. 

AUBURN LOAM. 

Area.— The Auburn loam lies in Chippewa, Eau Claire, Dun n 
and Barron counties. The soil of the town of Auburn, Chip- 
pewa county, is mainly of this type, hence the name. The boun- 
daries of the various bodies are very irregular, as shown on the 
map. Many of these bodies are small, but often they are ex- 
tensive, as for example the area southeast of Menomonie, in 
Dunn county, a tract nearly two townships in extent and the 
large area in northwestern Chippewa county and in south- 
eastern Barron county. Around Elk Mound is another large 
area, and in Eau Claire county are also a number of areas of 
considerable extent. 

Surface. — ^The Auburn loam is characterized by a hilly and 
undulating surface, becoming in places quite rough and the 
slopes quite steep. The topography is characteristic stream 
erosion topography developed on sandstone and shale forma- 
tions. Not all the area is hilly and undulating. The surface is 




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< 


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H 










+j 


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o 



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H 


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a2 






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si 


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w 


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t^ 


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4J 


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DESCRIPTION OF THE 80ILS. 79 

more gently roliug in the area south of Elk Mound. In other 
places similar uplands with gentle slopes are found but more 
often sharply undulating and hilly features prevail. The sur- 
face features are illustrated in Plates XIV and XV. 

F-orest. — The area was originally wooded with hardwoods, 
mainly red oak, black oak, burr oak, some birch, poplar and 
scattering maple. At present considerable wooded tracts re- 
main made up chiefly of black oak, and poplar. More of the 
steeply sloping areas of this soil type ought to remain in forest 
These slope areas are well adapted to tree growth and when 
covered with forest would prevent destructive 'gullying so 
noticeable on many of the fields which lie on the slopes. 

Soil. — ^The surface eight inches of this soil varies from a loam 
to a silt loam containing considerable silt. The surface soil is 
buff to yellowish in color and contains a medium amount of or- 
ganic matter. The subsoil to depth of 24 inches is usually a 
sandy to clayey loam. At three to three and one-half feet the 
soil in many cas;es become quite sandy. Shale and sand rock 
outcrops are commpn along road cuts and in many places there 
are only a few inches of soil overlying the sandstone formation. 
The sandstone and overlying soil is illustrated in figure 1, Plate 
XIII. 

The Auburn loam has been formed largely from the weather- 
ing of shaley sandstone of the Potsdam (Middle Cambrian) for- 
mation. The shale contains much coarse sand and a large pro- 
portion of clayey material. Although the area of this soil has 
been glaciated by the earliest glaciers, only a very small con- 
tribution of drift was added to the soil. The soil is a typical 
residual soil and is the only one of this class within the area. 
While the general soil type is a loam, there are considerable 
areas in which the soil becomes quite sandy. The more sandy 
soils are usually in the areas where the underlying rock is a 
nearly pure sandstone, without any shale and the soil is the 
direct result of weathered pure sandstone. North of Wheeler 
in Dunn county some especially sandy areas are found. Like- 
wise in the eastern part of Eau Claire county there are isolated 
areas of very sandy uplands. 

The results of the mechanical analyses of the soil and subsoil 
from various parts of the area are shown in the following table : 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Table XXI. — Mechanical analyses of the Auburn loam. 



No. 


Locality. 


Descrip- 
tion. 


Fine 
gravel. 


Coar e 
sand. 


Med- 
ium 
sand. 


Fine 
sand. 


Very 
fine 
sand. 


Silt. 


Clay. 


158 

158 

12 

12 

110 


Barron Co 

Barron Co 

Eau Claire Co. .. 
Eau Claire Co. .. 


Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil... 

Soil 

Subsoil . . 


.1 

.0 
.2 
.0 
.5 
.5 


3.3 
4.1 
6.9 
5.3 
15.0 
14.3 


5.9 
6.4 
11.1 
9.6 
18.0 
17.3 


11.6 
15.3 
13.1 

14.4 
17.6 
19.0 


9.6 
15.4 
14.9 
15.1 
12.9 
18.9 


57.1 
39.6 
42.7 
43.0 
26.6 
21.1 


11.9 
19.0 
10.5 
12.5 
9.7 


110 


Dunn Co 


9.3 











Somewhat heavier soils as well as lighter, more sandy soils 
than those analyzed in the table occur within the area. But the 
variation in the general texture of the soil is fairly well illus- 
trated by the samples analyzed. 

Soil Erosion. — The character of this soil with regard to its 
topography aifords conditions favorable to side hill erosion. It 
is difficult to estimate the annual loss by erosion, either from 
loss in fertility by removal of fine &oil particles or in consequence 
of gullying of the fields where the slopes are cultivated. As 
above stated as far as possible the steep slopes should remain in 
forest. If the steep slopes are already cleared the cultivated 
crops should not be planted oftener than once in three or four 
years, and the slopes should be allowed to remain in hay mead- 
ows or pasture the remainder of the time. Farmers thus far 
have not apparently appreciated the loss from erosion, other- 
wise more precaution would have been exercised to prevent it. 

Agriculture. — A highly developed system of diversified farm- 
ing is practiced on this soil type. Abundant pasture lands and 
a soil well adapted to cereals and corn make this area one espe- 
cialy well suited for general farming. 

The usual grains are oats, barley, wheat and some rye. Oats, 
however, are the leading grain, the average yield being 35 bushels 
per acre. Corn is an important crop, especially in Dunn county. 
It matures early and yields 40 to 50 bushels per acre. 

Clover and timothy are the usual hay crops, the average yield, 
being one to two tons per acre. Alfalfa has not been introduced 
extensively as yet but where farmers have planted small fields it 
has been found to give splendid results. It will probably be 
more extensively grown on this soil w^ien its value as a forage 
crop is realized. The potato crop is generally important on the 
sandy loam, the yields being 100 to 150 bushels per acre. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 81 

Dairy products together with live stock, hogs, beef, etc., are 
the leading exports from the farm. Cream is shipped to local 
creameries operated on a co-operative basis by the farmers. 
Very little grain is sold from the farm, but is fed on the farm 
and sold as manufactured dairy and live stock product. The 
tendency at present is toward keeping more pure-blooded ani- 
mals, of dairy type as a rule; breeders' organizations are aiding 
materially in the movement to eliminate the scrub cow from tho 
farm. 

Besides the general system of farming to which this soil is 
well adapted, the production of fruit ought to receive more at- 
tention. The loamy soil is splendidly adapted for raising apples 
and other tree fruits. The steep hillsides may be brought to 
produce abundantly when planted to fruit trees and grapevines, 
provided proper attention be given. At the present time little 
has been attempted in this way. The Auburn loam, except 
where the very sandy phases predominate is one of the most 
productive soils of northwestern Wisconsin. Crop yields have 
been fairly well maintained and only few farms showed soil in 
poor condition. Acidity of the soil has not developed to a large 
extent. 

The supply of nitrogen can be maintained by the growing of 
leguminous crops, clover and alfalfa. This is the cheapest source 
of obtaining the most expensive constituent of plant food. With 
regard to phosphorus farmers have already in few instances ex- 
pended $4 to $4.50 per acre for rock phosphate fertilizer. Where 
concentrated food stuffs for stock is not brought onto the farm 
from outside sources the application of mineral phosphate is a 
good method of maintaining the soil with high phosphorus con~ 
tent. 

Land Values. — Practically all this soil type is now laid out 
into farms though less than one-half is cleared land. Uncleared 
land is generally held at $15 to $30 per acre, and cleared land 
from $50 to $80, with occasional higher prices where farms are 
well situated and in a good state of improvement. 

PEAT AND MUCK. (Marshland.) 

Area. — ^While marshy tracts of more or less limited extent 
occur in all of the counties five of the counties contain a larger 
proportion of marsh than the others. These are Chippewa, Rusk, 
6 



82 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

Barron, Dunn and Eau Claire. In Chippewa and Rusk are areas 
occupying four to five thousand acres in one continuous marsh 
tract. In Barron, Dunn and Eau Claire counties many small 
areas adjacent to streams or in bottom lands are wet and marshy. 
In Polk many small tracts of marshy areas occur over the entire 
county. 

Surface. — The surface of these marshes is nearly level, the 
level surface being primarily the cause of its being a marsh. But 
while the areas appear to have almost a level surface, upon more 
careful observation a fall, sufficient for drainage can usually be 
obtained. 

Nalive Vegetation. — Over many marsh areas a stand of tama- 
rack, some cedar, and willows are found, while in others only 
marsh grass thrives. Moss is a common growth acquiring a 
depth of several feet in some cases. The peat in the marshes 
consists of an accumulation of moss and marsh grass, and varies 
widely in depth. In Dunn and southern Chippewa and Eau 
Claire the depth ranges from two to four feet, and is underlain 
by sandy subsoil. Along the Lamb Creek in Dunn county four 
to five feet of peat were often measured before the sandy lower 
soil was reached. In Rusk county large areas where the peat 
measured about three feet before clay soil was reached were 
common. 

Oftentimes lakes and ponds are included within marshy land, 
making it more difficult of drainage unless sufficient fall and out- 
let can be secured. 

Of the marsh lands of the entire area, a conservative estimat? 
would be about five to six per cent. In Pierce and St. Croix 
counties less than one per cent of the total area is marsh land. 
The amount of marsh land in some of the townships in eastern 
Rusk, and northeastern Chippewa where marsh and swamp Ian i 
is most abundant is probably from 20 to 25 per cent of the town- 
ship. Other townships in Rusk and Chippewa counties have 
less than one per cent of marsh land. 

The agricultural value of these marsh areas is dependant en- 
tirely upon their reclamation. At the present time undrained 
and unimproved the larger proportion of marsh land is only of 
incidental value and then only for wild hay as a rule. In the 
management of these marshes the first requisite is proper drain- 
age to remove surplus water and thus fit the area for cultivation. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. §3 

Before taking up the question of crops and fertilizer requirement 
the subject of drainage will be discussed. The following dis- 
cussion is abstracted from a recent bulletin* of the Wisconsin 
Experiment Station. 

Drainage of Marsh Lands. Deep outlet ditches. The con- 
struction of deep outlet ditches is the first step in the reclama- 
tion of broad marsh areas, particularly the peat marshes. Such 
marshes usually receive the run-off from upland areas several 
times their size. Covered drains of the required capacity would 
be very expensive. 

The minimum depth of outlet ditches should be five feet, ex- 
cept where opportunities for self cleaning are good, when the 
depth may be decreased to four feet. The bottom width should 
be at least one-half of the depth. Eight feet is perhaps the 
most advisable depth on marshes more than half a mile wide. 
On marshes less than half a mile wide or where the transverse 
slope to the ditch is more than a foot in eighty rods, the depth 
may be reduced. Here also the bottom width should be at least 
one-half the depth and as much more as the requirements seem 
to demand. It must be remembered that it is the depth to 
which a ditch will empty itself and not the depth to which it i? 
dug that determines its efficiency. 

Usually the outlet ditch is not made too deep, but it is often 
made too wide. One ditch that has been observed was mad.3 
four feet deep and sixteen feet wide, because the dredge used 
could not mai;e a narrower ditch. The result was that during 
the normal summer flow, a stream about two feet wide shifted 
from one side to the other on the wide bottom. The remainder 
of the bottom grew up with rank weeds, which, collecting sedi- 
ment during high water, is gradually filling up the ditch. A 
ditch with a four foot bottom and six feet deep would be more 
serviceable and durable. Dredge men unskilled at handling the 
dipper frequently find it easier to make the slopes almost verti- 
cal. This should not be tolerated because with such slopes the 
banks are almost certain to fall in and to accumulate on the bot- 
tom of the ditch. A ditch six feet wide at the bottom, six feet 
deep and eighteen feet wide at the top (6x6x18) is more perma- 
nent than a ditch of the same depth and eighteen feet wide at 



* "Principles and Practice of Land Drainage," by E. R. Jones, Bul- 
letin No. 199, Wis. Exp. Station. 



S4 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

the bottom and top. With a small effort the slopes of the former 
ditch can be made smooth and sodded over to prevent erosion 
and growth of rank weeds. 

Shallow Surface Ditches. — 'Shallow surface ditches are those 
intended only to conduct surface water to deep ditches or to 
natural outlets. Since they are of u:e only during flood flow, 
they are dry most of the time and they may be called "dry" 
ditches. 

Forms and Size. — Except where a cutting has to be made 
through a ridge they seldom need to be more than two feet deep. 
With rounded bottoms and a top width of ten or twelve feet the 
slopes are such as to admit of crossing with teams, vehicles, and 
implements. Where the slopes and bottom are sodded, the ap- 
pearance is improved and the grass growing in them may be 
mowed for hay. Shallow ditches along permanent fences, where 
they will be out of the way of cultivation may be made narrower 
and Math steeper side slopes. 

All that has been claimed for deep outlet ditches is that they 
are the first step in the reclamation of a humus marsh. They 
stand ready to carry off the water brought to them, but are slow 
to reach out after water. The logical way of developing a humus 
marsh is as follows : Co-operate with your neighbors in organiz- 
ing a drainage district and put in a deep outlet ditch. Then 
along forty lines or property lines put in shallow surface ditches 
one foot deep at the head and perhaps three feet deep where they 
empty in the deep ditch. Then plow the adjacent fields in nar- 
row lands so that there will be dead furrows every four rods 
leading into the shallow ditches. Such a net work of surface 
drains with a deep ditch for an outlet will aft'ord sufficient drain- 
age to raise timothy hay on the area. When it seems advisable 
to put in covered underdrains, other crops may be raised. Small 
ditches with dikes on the side toward the marsh are frequently 
used to protect marshes from flood water. The dike may be 
made of the earth excavated. 

Cost. — The construction of the vast majority of deep outlet 
ditches requires the use of steam or gasoline dredges. The cost 
of hauling a dredge from the railroad station to the marsh, 
and that of putting it together and tearing it apart is the same 
whether the ditch be long or short. Large contracts are fre- 
quently taken for seven cents a cubic yard. The rate for small 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 85 

contracts is sometimes twice that figure. At ten cents a yard a 
6x7x20 ditch costs about $1,700 a mile. Peat can be handled 
for less money than either sand or clay. 

The cost of shallow ditches can be materially decreased if a 
dry time is chosen for their construction. Where team and 
scraper or a road grader can be used, a depression two feet deep 
and ten or twelve feet wide at the top can be made for thirty 
cents a rod. 

Causes of Failure. — It is evident, that three of the causes of 
failure in tlie reclamation of humus marshes are: (1) shallow 
ditches have been put in without first providing a deep ditch for 
an outlet; (2) deep ditches have been put in without afterwards 
putting in shalloAv ditches for feeders : and (3) some well drained 
marshes have been poorly managed. 

Deep and shallow ditches should be given an opportunity to 
work hand in hand. Neither is complete without the other. 
Land owners who have expended five dollars an acre for a deep 
outlet ditch, lose a large part of its value by xefusing to expend 
two dollars an acre more upon surface ditches for feeders, or m 
greater amount for tile where deeper and more permanent drain- 
age is desired. 

Crops. — Having properly provided for removal of surplus 
water by suitable drainage system as outlined above, the ques- 
tion of crops adapted and fertilizer requirement is in order. It 
may be stated at the outset that the marsh tracts of this section 
differ in sorne respects from similar tracts in adjoining states. 
Some of the peat here is not so well decomposed — not so muck- 
like, — and not so deep as those of neighboring states. The crops 
to which Wisconsin marshes are adapted likewise differ. Of 
course the location being further north, likewise exerts an in- 
(iuence on plant growth not always given due weight. 

The best crop thus far tried on Wisconsin marshes for the 
first year or two is buckwheat. The marsh is plowed to a depth 
of 6 inches or so and disked up and seeded to buckwheat at a 
rate of 1 bushel per acre. After first or second crop of buck- 
wheat the field may be seeded to alsike and timothy or red top 
and if a system of farming is followed that requires much hay 
the marsh land can very profitably be devoted to that purpose. 
It will, of course, be necessary occasionally to turn up the sod 
and seed to some grain crop to establish new growth of seeding 



86. SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

ag^ain. Yields of two tons of hay per acre are not uncommon 
when this type of land has been properly managed and cared 
for. 

If grain crops are desirable, barley has been found preferable, 
and also corn where climate is favorable. Oats was found to do 
wonderfully well in some areas. Trucking crops, such as pota- 
toes and cabbage, have proved successfuU as well. 

To maintain maximum yields addition of fertilizing material 
is essential. Practically all the marsh lands with possible ex- 
ception of those in Polk county are sour or in an acid condition. 
They also require both phosphoric acid and potash fertilizer. 
Wood ashes where these can be obtained in unleached condition, 
are a cheap and excellent fertilizer to supply the potash. They 
may be applied at rate of one ton per acre and should be har- 
rowed in thoroughly. "When wood ashes are not available the 
imported potash fertilizer should be used. 

To supply the phosphorus* needed the ground rock phosphate 
is preferable, although ground bonemeal also gives good satisfac- 
tion where tried. The ground rock phosphate may be added in 
the fall of the year at the rate of one-half ton per acre for the 
first application, and smaller amounts later. If the bonemeal is 
used, 300 pounds per acre are sufficient. Application of phos- 
phate need not be repeated for three or four years. 

The additional supply of nitrogen fertilizers has shown no 
marked improvement in crop yield. The peat marshes with 
their large supply of organic matter usually afford more than 
enough nitrogen in a form available to plants. Wherever barn 
yard manure is available on the farm it can be added with profit 
Where this is done, purchase of commercial fertilizers is unneces- 
sary. As a rule, however, it is best to use the manure on the 
ordinary soils of the farm where a complete fertilizer is needed, 
and to apply a special mineral fertilizer of phosphate and potash 
to the muck soils. 

In the Newer Portion. — With cut over land in the northern 
part of the state selling for about fifteen dollars an acre, the 
greatest factor in determining the value of cleared land is . the 
cost of removing the stumps, slashings and stones. Assuming 



* For a more complete discussion of the management of marshland 
soils, see Bull. 205, which may be had on application to the College 
of Agriculture, Madison, Wis. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE SOILS. 87 

this to vary from ten to forty dollars an acre, the total cost of 
cleared upland ready for the plow is from twenty-five to over 
fifty dollars an acre. Open peat marshes, those containing no 
wood or brush, can be bought for from three to five dollars an 
acre. For ten dollars an acre mth a combination of deep and 
shallow ditches they can be drained to a degree that will permit 
the growth of timothy hay. They can be plowed immediately 
after drainage at a cost not greater than that of breaking up- 
land. Assuming farther that the fertilizer requirement of the 
marsh soil can be supplied for a few years at least very cheaply 
in the form of wood ashes from the saw mills or from the burned 
brush piles of the upland, the settler in northern Wisconsin can 
make tame hay land out of peat marshes for less than half the 
average cost of doing the same with upland. It is probable, 
however, that for the production of the cereals, it is better for 
•the present to clear upland, than to attempt the more complete 
drainage of the humus marshes that would be necessary for 
this purpose. 



80IL SURVEY OF NORTllWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



CHAPTER IV. 
AGRICULTURE. 

HISTORICAL. 

This area like other portions of central and northern Wis- 
consin, was originally covered Avith much hardwood and pine, 
the latter being especially ahnndant on the sandy lands along 
the rivers. Only in the western part of the area, mainly in St. 
Croix county, thinly wooded and prairie lands occur. It was 
the pine lumber industry that first attracted the permanent set- 
tlers to the area. The location of saw mills around which vil- 
lages and cities were built were the centers from which the agri- 
cultural development later proceeded. 

The pioneer lumbermen came in from the south, up the Mis- 
sissippi river and its main tributaries, the Chippewa and the St. 
Croix. Before the railroads penetrated the area the logs and 
sawed lumber were floated or towed down the river in rafts. To 
a certain extent this mode of transportation is still used, though 
the more rapid sliipment by rail is now the usual method. 

For a number of years lumbering was the leading industry o^ 
the area. For the last 15 or 20 years, however, agriculture has 
.been in the lead and is steadih^ growing in importance. 

F-irst Settlements. — Long before the first permanent settle- 
ments were made in tb.is area the region had been visited by ex- 
plorers and fur traders. Father Hennepin visited the Sioux 
Indians at St. Croix Falls as early as 1681. "Fort Beau Har 
nais" trading post was liuilt on Lake Pepin in 1793. Jonathan 
Carver went up the Chippewa river as far as Chippewa Falls in 
1767. 

The first permanent settlement in the area was made in 1828 
when a saw mill was erected at the mouth of Wilson Creek, the 
present site of Menomonie. As early as 1839 three mills were in 
operation in the vicinity of Menomonie. St. Croix Falls was first 



AGRICULTURE. 



89 



settled in 1837, and Chippewa Falls in 1839. A saw mill at 
Eau Galle was built in 1840. A saw mill was built at Osceola 
in 1842 and a grist mill in 1848. Hudson was first settled in 
1840 and tlie first farm opened there in 1841. Eau Claire was 
iirst settled in 1845. Settlers located in the vicinity of Pepin 
in 1846, at River Falls in 1848, and at Arkansaw in 1852. The 
first logging in Barron county was carried on in 1848 and the 
first farm opened in the southern part of the county in 1855. 

Early Transportation. — Before the advent of the railroads, 
steam boats ascended the Chippew^a river as far as Eau Claire, 
and a:cended the St. Croix river as far as St. Croix Falls. River 
traffic on the Chippewa was abandoned soon after the railroads 
reached Eau Claire, but river traffic is still important between 
Stillwater and Hudson and various ports on the Mississippi. 
Occasionally excursion boats go beyond Stillwater to St. Croix 
Falls. 

The first railroad, now the C. St. P. M. & 0. R., reached the 
area m 1870. The present C. St. P. M. & 0. R R. railroad con- 
nection between Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire was made in 
1875, and the "Wisconsin Central, now the "Soo"' line reached 
Chippewa Falls from Abbotsford in 1880. The railroad was 
built from Eau Claire to St. Paul in 1871-2. 

Population. — The growth in population in the nine counties 
of the area since 1860 is shown in the following table : 

Table XXll.— Population of the area from 1S60 to 1910 (U. S. Census). 



County. 


1860 


1870 


1880 


189D 


1900 


1910 


Chippewa 


1.895 
3,162 
2,704 
2.H92 
4.672 
5.392 
1,400 
13 


8,311 
1 ,769 
9,488 
4.659 
9.958 
11.035 
3.422 
538 


15,491 
19, 993 
16.817 

6.226 
17,744 
18.956 
10,018 

7,024 


25. 143 
30,673 
22.664 
6.932 
20. 385 
23.139 
12,968 
15,416 


33,037 
31,692 
25,043 
7.905 
23.943 
26. 830 
17,801 
23,677 


32,103 


Eau Claire 

Dunn 


32,721 
25,260 


Pepin 


7,577 


Pierce 


22,079 


St. Croix 


25 910 


Polli 

Barron 


21 367 
29,114 


Ruslt* 


11,160 


















21,630 


58, 180 


112,269 


157,320 


189,928 


207,291 



*Rusk county was organized from Chippewa county in 1901 . 



The table shows an increase of population for the entire area 
from 21,630 in 1860 to 207,291 in 1910. From 1860 to 1890 
the increase in population was due to the development of lum- 
bering as well as agriculture. Since 1890 the increase is largely 



90 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



due to the steady growth in agricultural population. The rural 
population of the southern and well settled counties, Eau Claire, 
Dunn, Pepin, Pierce, and St. Croix has remained about station- 
ary since 1900. The northern unsettled counties, such as north- 
ern Chippewa, Eusk, Barron, and Polk show a steady increase. 

Nativity of Population. — Most of the population of the several 
counties is Jiative born. The following table compiled from the 
state census of 1905 shows the source of the population : 



Table XXill.—JVativity 


of pop 


ulation 


, State 


census, 


1905. 




County. 


Total 
popu- 
lation. 


Native 
born. 


Ger- 
many. 


Nor- 
way. 


Swe- 
den, 


Den- 
mark. 


Can- 
ada. 


Ire- 
land. 


Barron 


28,376 
32,000 
26,074 
33,519 

7,569 
23.433 
20, 885 
26,716 

9,748 


21,225 

24, 862 
20, 570 
25,893 

6,182 
18,851 
15,035 
20, 640 

7,824 


1,226 

2,200 

1,857 

2,609 

249 

872 

547 

1,024 

328 


2,648 
1,766 
2,509 
2,847 
54 
1,364 
1,397 
2.208 
343 


911 
233 
219 
280 
.378 
1,152 
2,126 
536 
226 


205 
122 
108 
99 

""224" 

1,141 

347 

■69 


713 
1,633 

306 
938 
121 
251 
346 
602 
484 


67 


Chippewa 


251 




99 


Eau Claire 


253 


Pepin 


29 


Pierce 


203 


Polk 


52 


St. Croix 


556 


Rusk 


17 







The population is largely native born. The lowest percentage 
of native born is in Polk county, and the highest percentage is 
in Eusk, Pepin and Pierce. A large portion of the native born, 
however, from one-third to two-thirds, is of comparatively recent 
foreign parentage. The table shows that in all the counties ex- 
cept Chippewa the most important foreign element is Scandina- 
vian. Of the Scandinavian element, the Norwegian predomi- 
nates except in Polk county where the Swedes are more promi- 
nent. In Chippewa county the Germans are the most important 
foreign element, with Norwegians second, and French Canadians 
third. The Canadian element, mainly French Canadian is also 
important in Eau Claire, Barron, St. Croix and Eusk. The 
Danes are important in Polk, and there are numerous Irish in 
St. Croix. 

General Conditions of Agricultural Development. — Certain 
parts of the area in Pepin, Pierce, Dunn and Eau Claire coun- 
ties, are well settled, the earliest farm settlement dating back 
50 to 60 years. Other parts, especially in the northern portion 
in Polk, Barron, Eusk and Chippewa, though having in general 
equally as good soils, are still covered with large areas of dense 
hardwood forests. The soil map of the area showing the distri- 



AGRICULTURE. 



91 



bution of wagon roads, expresses fairly well the distribution of 
the well settled and the very thinly settled parts of the area. 

Proportion of Cultivated and Uncultivated Lands. — 'The fol- 
lowing table gives the total land area in each county and also 
the amount of land under cultivation in 1885, 1895 and 1905. 
The percentage of total land under cultivation, aecording-to cen- 
sus of 1905 is also given: 

Table XXIV. — fJultirated land. 



Counties. 


Total land 

areas in 
1000 acres. 


Cultivated 

land in 1885 

1000 acres. 


Cultivated 

land in 1893 

1000 acres. 


Cultivated 

land in 1905 

luOO acres. 


Percentage 

of total 

land under 

cultivation 

1905. 


Barron 


561 
654 
540 
396 
152 
3 IT 
597 
455 
586 


43 

91 
136 
111 

45 
135 

63 
207 


79 
131 

175 
14". 
54 

158 

83 

228 


136 
169 

218 
166 

62 
189 
124 
252 

16 


24.2 


Chippewa 


25.9 


Dunn 


40.4 


Eau Claire 

Pepin 

Pierce 


41.9 
40.9 
51.6 


Polk 


20.8 


St. Croix 


55.5 


Rusk* 


2.8 











*Rusk, a part of Chippewa county until 1901. 



This table shows the steady growth of agriculture in all the 
counties of the area. The county showing the greatest improve- 
ment between 1895 and 1905 is Barron, with Dunn second and 
Polk third. St. Croix county has the largest percentage of land 
under cultivation with Pierce second and Eau Claire third. 
Rusk county, only recently set off from northern Chippewa has 
only a small percentage of its area under cultivation. 

Farm Buildings. Occasionally log houses are built in the 
newest settlements, but usually the farm homes are the ordinary 
type of frame structures. In all the better settled areas, new 
frame houses much more pretentious than those first built, 
have been constructed. Houses of brick have been built in many 
localities, but are not abundant. A very large number of the 
barns are of the stone basement type. Silos are not abundant 
but are gradually being built as the interest in dairying in- 
creases. 

Price of Farm Lands. The value of cleared lands varies con- 
siderably in the area depending upon character of soil and also 
the general location. The best class of farm land is generally 



92 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



held at from 50 to 80 dollars per acre. Some lands, however, 
are held as high as 100 dollars per acre. Much of the lightest 
sand land is held at 20 to 40 dollars per acre. Good farm 
lands without improvements and witli little or no merchantable 
timber, generally vary at present (1910) from 8 to 20 dollar& 
per acre, the price depending upon accessibility by rail and 
wagon road, as well as upon character of the soil. 

Crops. All the iinportant common crops are grown in the 
areas. The following table shows the production of the im- 
portant grain crops in 1901 from the latest available statistics. 

Table XX[[. — Table showing acreage and producti,on of grain in 1904. 



County. 



Barron 

Chippewa 

Dunn 

Eau Claire 

Pepin 

Pierce 

Pollv- 

St. Croix . .■ 

Ruslc 



Barley. 



3,502 
1.952 

4,674 
4, 1.52 
8,924 



91,89.^ 
54,427 
r24,2l8 
131. 05H 
279.321 



35, 023 1 1. 075, 79i 



4,024 

15,753 

151 



120,654 

447,883 

4,974 



Buck- 
wheat. 



1,114 17,380 
954116,399 



1,812 

2.510 

238 

1.58 



26, 391 

34,885 
3,041 
2,270 
2011 3.629 
662110,165 
115 1.852 



Corn. 


Oats. 

1 


A 


B 


A 


B 


3.242 
10,792 
26,203 
14, H54 

9.746 
15.873 

6,622 

14,148 

273 


76. 9.59 
261.732 

777,296 
386.861 
298. 204 
497,307 
143,338 
318,781 
7.749 


31,574 

42.584 
57,9tt2 
47,609 
13,489 
49. 138 
36, 626 
93.163 
1,308 


1.145,025 
1.742,0.-)8 
1,953.278 
1,688,520 
499.215 
1,973,673 
1.391,0501 
3,270,522 
46,573 



Rye. 



1,245 
1.913 

4,805 
5,427 
2,198 
4.789 
1.235 
5,465 
51 



22,706 
28.114 
57,111 
66,942 
24, 257 
85.035 
19.787 
93, 3-56 
896 



Wheat. 



51,542 
33.542 
59,636 
64,106 
27,627 
80,538 
58,914 
.51,591 
1,560 



The most important grain crop in the area, in acreage and 
bushels is the oat crop. From one to three million bushels were 
grown in each of the counties except Pepin and Rusk. St. Croix 
is one of the leading counties in the state in the production of 
oats, usually ranking among the first two or three counties.- 
The acreage and production of oats in 1904 was approximately 
double that of 10 years earlier. 

The next crop in importance is corn. Dunn county leads in 
the production of corn with Pierce second and Eau Claire third. 
The increase in the production of corn has not been important 
in the past 10 years. 

Barley is next in importance in the area though wheat \^ 
more important than barley in many of the counties. Pierce 
county leads in barley, producing over one million bushels in 
1904, almost as much as the entire remainder of the area. 
Pierce is one of the leading counties of ■ the state in barley. 
There has been a considerable increase in production of barley 



AGRICULTURE. 



93 



in the past 10 or 11 years. St. Croix is second in barley and 
Pepin third in the area. 

The wheat crop is relatively unimportant in the area at pres- 
ent though from 20 to 40 years ago it was the leading grain. 
At present Pierce leads in wheat, with Eau Claire second anrl 
Dunn third. At an earlier period St. Croix was the leading 
wheat county and was very important in wheat raising. There 
has been a steady decline in wheat raising in all the counties 
of the area since 1885. In 1885 St. Croix raised 1,807,985 
bushels of wheat and in 1905 only 51,591. 

Rye and buckwheat are relatively unimportant crops. The 
production of rye like that of barley has greatly increased in 
the area. 

The potato is an important crop in Chippewa, Barron and 
Dunn counties'. In these three counties the production has 
nearly doubled in the past 10 or 15 years. On the other hand 
the production in the other counties except in Eau Claire, 
shows a decrease. The potato is grown mainly on the sandy 
loam soils of the area. 

Table XXIII. — Acreage and production of potatoes 1885-1905 . 





1885. 


1895. 


1905. 


County. 


Acres. 


Bushels. 


Acres. 


Bushels. 


Acres. 


Bushels. 


Barron 


760 
1,298 
1.344 
1.108 

440 
1.098 

875 
1,581 


86,443 
153.409 
144,373 
133 630 

42.773 
137.726 
103.772 
180,022 


3,164 
3,810 
3,898 
2,495 
592 
2.266 
3.092 
3,643 


151,002 
161,782 
159, 486 
124,040 
21,631 
115,327 
107,818 
142,303 


5.962 
6,179 
5,474 
2. 538 

351 
1.369 
23.30 
1,701 

501 


61 4,. 336 


Chippewa 


779,509 
602,678 


Eau Claire.. 
Pepin 


367,465 
43, 276 




162. 154 


Polk 


192, 679 


St. Croix 

Rusk. 


164,632 
55. 995 















Among the special crops, sugar beets, tobacco, pease and corn 
['or canning are groA^n in various parts of the area. Tobacco 
is grown on the sandy loam soil in the vicinity of Chippewa 
Falls and Colfax and in various other localities in Chippewa, 
Barron and Dunn counties. Sugar beets are grown in Chippewa 
county, and to some extent in Eau Claire and Barron, the crop 
being worked up in the large sugar factory at Chippewa Falls. 
Pea canning factories are located at Chippewa Falls, Barron 



94 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



and Eice Lake and a considerable acreage in pease for canning 
has been developed in these localities. 

Hay. The hay crop is an important one and has more than 
doubled in acreage and tons in the last 10 year period. The table 
shows the statistics for the census years of 1895, 1900 and 1905. 
St. Croix has the largest acreage in hay with Barron county 
second and Chippewa third. Barron county, however, raised 
the largest number of tons. 



Table XXIV — Acreage and production of hay. 



1895. 


U. S. Census 1900 (1899). 


1905. 




Hay. 


Wild. 


Clover. 


Other tame 
grasses. 


Hay. 


County. 


- 0) 

o 


'J) 

5 


o 


73 
C 
O 


9 
o 
< 


tn 
C 
O 


CD 
O 


a) 
C 
O 




en 
O 

H 






21,349 
28,826 
35,709 
30, 628 
9,304 
32,561 
24,lii4 
34,182 


2.513 

2,798 
3.390 
5,752 


2,7*^1 
3,445 
3,902 
7 327 


861 
3,791 
3,639 
4,079 
1,656 
3,514 
1,074 
1,960 


1.175' 
5,149 
5.028 
5,927 
2, 462 
5,811 
1,697 
2,646 


42,847 
44,913 
39, 570 
26.033 
7,737 
30, 226 
32,065 
53,924 


51,096 
52,561 
47.009 
31.149 
10,218 
42, 204 
.39,438 
58,538 


53,808 
51,391 
49,bS7 
39,178 
10,083 
34,763 
47,854 
59, 274 
7,756 


80, 930 






77,865 






7ri,045 






58, 126 






1 740 


931 


16,351 






1,293 
4,645 

2,680 


1,376 
5,350 
3,026 


58,747 


Polk 




69, 501 


8t Croix .-•• 




77,347 






12,447 






216,663 










1 






23,811 


28,138 


20,574 


29,995 


277,315 


332,213 


353,694 


527,359 



The table shows that the production of hay increased nearly 
4 times in the past decade in Barron county; nearly three 
times in Polk and Chippewia, and about two times in the other 
counties. The increase in the production of hay follow close- 
ly the increased development of the dairy industry in the several 
counties of the area. In the statistics compiled from the U. S. 
Census of 1900 it is interesting to note the tonnage of wild hay 
and of clover. Clover is an especially valuable crop grown in 
rotation with grains, in order to supply nitrogen to the soil. 
Eau Claire leads in the acreage of clover, with, Chippewa sec- 
ond and Dunn third. The grain raising counties, especially St- 
Croix and Pepin do not make a good showing with regard to 
clover. In all the counties an increase in the acreage of clover 
ought to be made. 

Dairying. Dairying is an important industry in all the coun- 
ties of the area. The value of dairy products exceeds that of 



AGRICULTURE. 



95 



total grain in Barron, Rusk and Polk. In Chippewa the total 
value of grain is slightly greater than that of dairy products, 
and in the remaining counties grain considerably exceeds the 
value of dairy products. The value of the oat crop alone great- 
ly exceeds the value of dairy products in St. Croix, and the oat 
crop or barley crop alone are almost equal to the dairy products 
in Polk, Pierce and Pepin counties. 

In all the counties, however, there has been a great increase 
in dairying in recent years. The number of milch cows, and 
also the product and value has more than doubled in the last 
ten year period. The greatest increase is shown by Barron, 
with Polk, second, Chippewa third and Dunn fourth, as shown 
in the ajccompauying table. 

Table XXV. — Table of dairy statistics. 



County. 



1895. 



Milch cows. 



Barron. .. . 
Chippewa. . 

Dunn 

Eau Claire. 

Pepin 

Pierce 

Polk 

St. Oroix... 
Eusk 



5,795 
7.143 
9,758 
8,115 
3,275 
9,421 
7,988 
10, 540 



Value of 

dair.v 
products. 



$74,584 
122,958 
142,600 
139, 776 
44,963 
177,657 
108,495 
138,579 



1905. 



Milch cows. 



17,767 
17,417 
20.944 
14.270 

5,371 
16. ,383 
19,693 
18,977 

2.329 



Value of 

dairy 
products. 



$549,476 
552,192 
624,435 
449,987 
165,664 
516,508 
585,2.V2 
695. 008 
143,136 



The statistics in regard to amount and value of dairy products 
for 1895 are sufficiently complete for purposes of comparison 
with 1905. The increase in dairying, however, is best shown by 
the increase in number of milch cows between 1895 and 1905 
in the various counties. While dairying will steadily increase 
in importance over the entire area in the future, it is quite likely 
that the greatest increase will take place in the northern and 
eastern counties where the soil conditions for grain raising are 
not so favorable as in the southwestern part of the area. Dairy- 
ing, however, should be encouraged and developed as rapidly 
as possible in the southwestern counties as an important means 
of maintaining the fertility of the soil in connection with the 
extensive grain raising. 



96 



SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



Live StocJc. Live j^loek such as hogs, cattle and sheep is an 
important source of farm revenue. The value of live stock sold 
in 1904 is shown by the following table: 

Table XX' V. — Value of lire stock sold and consumed, and value of wool, 
in 1904 State Census, 1905. 



Counties. 


Cattle anrl 
calves. 


Hog-s. 


Sheep. 


Wool. 


Barron 


«149. 574 
127.633 
158.599 
84,685 
37,616 
211.541 
170.964 
213.946 
22,261 


SS^963 
128 288 
278,385 
149,622 
124.299 
194.837 
104,923 
159,301 
9,880 


SI 9. 700 
8,496 

20,425 
6.016 
5.583 

47.505 
8,993 

21,145 
1,617 


S13.803 




9,937 


Dunn 

Eau Claire 

Pepin 


22,272 
5.989 
7.650 

49 570 


Polk 


8.548 


St. Croix 


21 . 783 


Rusk 










1,176,822 


1,222.538 


139,570 


140,907 



From the table it may be seen that the annual revenue from 
the sale of hogs only slightly exceeds that of cattle in the area. 
The most important eountv for hogs is Dunn, and for cattle is 
Pierce. Pepin county ranks highest in hogs in proportion to 
the size of the county. Sheep and wool is not important as 
compared ^^ni\\ other live stock. Pierce is the leading county 
in sheep, the value of sheep and wool sold in 1904 being $97,075 
more than double that of any other county, and amounting to 
more than one third of the entire area. Pierce also usually 
ranks among the first two or three counties in the state in 
sheep and wool. 

In addition to the crops already mentioned all kinds of garden 
truck are grown, and also an abundance of the common small 
fruits such as the strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, currant 
and gooseberry. Of the tree fruits the hardy varieties of the 
apple and the plum are grown succe sfully. 

Transportation and Com.mnnicafioii. Each of the counties of 
the area is well supplied with railroads, and telephone lines, and 
rural mail routes. In the mcU settled parts of the area good 
roads prevail, and in the thinly settled parts graded roads are 
built to new settlers as needed. In the vicinity of Eau Claire, 
some of the sandy roads have been greatly improved by the 
use of shale. 

Markets. The leading cities with their population in 1910 are 
^ follows: 



AGRICULTURE. 



97 



TABLE XXVI.— POPULATION OF CITIES OP THE AREA. 





18.310 

8.8y3 

5.03(3 
3.9(58 
2.810 
2.(575 
2.352 
1.991 


New Richmond 

Durand 


1 988 




1 503 




1,449 




Cumbei'land . 


1 445 






1 204 




Ellsworth 


1.005 




Spring: V^alley 


972 


River Falls 


Pres( 'ott 


936 









Smaller cities and villages are distributed over the entire area 
and afford ample means for trade. 

Forest Conditions. — The valuable standing timber at the pres- 
ent time is in the northern and northeastern part of the area. 
]\Iost of the pine forest was removed from 20 to 40 years ago, and 
very little or no pine is now left. Hardwood and hemlock for- 
ests of merchantable lumber, however, are abundant in Rusk, 
northeastern Chippewa and in the northern parts of Barron 
and Polk. There are some small tracts of good hardwood timber 
still remaining also in the eastern part of Pierce, southwestern 
part of Dunn and in the northeastern part of St. Croix. The 
hardwoods consist mainly of oak, maple, birch, basswood and 
ash. 

7 



98 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 



APPENDIX. 

CORRELATION OF SOILS OF NORTH WESTERN "WIS- 
CONSIN AND OF NORTH CENTRAL 
WISCONSIN. 

The area of North Central Wisconsin, a preliminary soil sur- 
vey of which was completed in 1903, lies immediately east of 
North W^estern Wisconsin along the eastern boundary of Eau 
Claire, Chippewa and Rusk counties. 

In each of the areas, 14 soil types are distinguished and 
shown on the maps of the respective areas. While the number 
of soils mapped in the two areas is the same, the soils in the 
two areas differ in many respects. 

The soils in the two areas are unlike on account of certain 
differences in the geological formations. The North Central 
area is very largely a region of granitic rock, with no lime- 
stone formations and no Icess deposits. The North Western 
area on Ihe other hand contains considerable areas of limestone 
and loess and while it also contains some areas of granitic rock, 
no typical residual soils on granitic rock are developed. Both 
areas, however, are alike in being covered with glacial drift and 
alluvial deposits. 

Three soil types developed on the glacial drift, the Colby 
silt loam, the Chelsea loam, and the Kennan silt loam, are com- 
mon types in both areas. The Marathon loam and the Mosinee 
gravelly soil, residual soils on the crystalline and granitic rocks, 
occur only in the North Central area. The Hartland silt loam, 
loess soil, and the Cushing loam and Baldwin silt loam, devel- 
oped on limestone or limestone drift, occur only in the North 
West area. 

Three phases of alluvial or bottom land soils are mapped in 
each area. Of tbe alluvial soils, the Rice Lake loam corresponds 
closely to the Antigo loam, the Chetek sandy loam corresponds 
closely to the Bancroft sandy loam, and the sterling sand cor- 



APPENDIX. 99 

responds closely to the "Wisconsin River sand. The Meridean 
sandy loam, the iypQ on the lowest terrace of the alluvial bot- 
tom, IS not mapped separately in the North Central area. 

The Auburn loam, residual soil developed on the sandstone, 
is an important soil in the North West area and corresponds 
only in a general way to the IMentor sand and Gary sandy loam 
of Clark and Wood counties. The Mentor sand and Cary sandy 
loam consists of both upland and bottom land soils while the 
Auburn loam is a type of upland soil, on sandstone and shale 
associated with loess deposits. 

The Milltown silt loam of Polk county has no closely corres- 
ponding type in the North Central area. The Thornapple 
sandy loam in Chippewa County, and the Harrison sandy soil 
in Lincoln county, and Amherst sandy loam in Portage and 
Marathon are phases of drift soils. 

Three of the soil types on the glacial drift, the Kennan silt 
loam, the Chelsea loam, and the Colby silt loam extend across, 
as mapped, from the North Central area into the North West- 
ern area. Owing to the fact that eastern Chippewa county is 
fairly well opened up to farming at present while the western 
part of Taylor county was wholly unsettled at the time of the 
survey of the latter, tlie separation of the Kennan silt loam 
from the Chelsea loam in eastern Chippewa county has been 
made with greater detail than it was in Taylor county. The 
Kennan loam in Taylor county extends farther south, includ- 
ing a considerable larger portion of the region about Gilman 
than is shown on the soil map of North Central Wisconsin. In 
the next edition of the soil map it will be possible to make a 
more detailed survey of the soils in western Taylor county. 

Owing to the fact that loess is of general occurrence over the 
sandstone of Eau Claire county, as well as to the fact that the 
sandstone itself contains much shale or clay, the soils of Eau 
Claire county differ considerably from those on the sandstone 
of western Clark county where these deposits are not developed. 
Both the sandstone upland soils and the bottom land soils in 
Eau Claire county as well as other parts of the North Western 
area are mapped with much greater detail and on a somewhat 
different basis than the soils of western Clark county. In gen- 
eral the Mentor sand of western Clark county corresponds 



100 SOIL SURVEY OF NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN. 

closely with the Sterling sand, the former, however, contains 
sandy uplands as well as sandy bottoms, whereas the latter 
type includes only the sandy bottom soil. The Carey sandy 
loam of Clarlv county corresponds closely to the Auburn loam of 
Eau Claire in character of soil, though the former includes 
bottom lands as well as uplands, Avhereas the Auburn loam in- 
cludes only the upland soils. 

. The Auburn loam type associated wath occasional deposits 
of loess soil extends over a small area about Humbird on the 
western border of Clark county. In the next edition of the £oil 
map of North Central "Wisconsin a more detailed classification 
of the soil in western Clark should be made. 

The various names of the soils in both the North Central and 
the North Western areas are of local derivation and are applied 
only provisionally with the plan in mind that probably other 
names will be used for these soils at some future time when 3, 
detailed survey of the soils of the entire state is completed. 
The soil names used in the TJ. S. Bureau of toils classification in 
the detailed surveys of the southern counties of the state will 
probably supercede' many of the names used in the recon- 
noissance surveys of the northern parts of the state. 



INDEX. 



^cid soil. 60, 64, 71, 81, 86. 
Agricultural development, 90. 
Alluvial deposits, 6, 98. 
Alluvial terraces, 6. 
Altitude of area, 1. 

of railroad stations, 21. 

of rivers, 22. 
Archean hills, 8. 
Areas of soils, 36. 
Artesian wells, 16. 

systems, 17. 
Auburn loam, SI. 



Baldwin loams, 37. 

Baraboo Ridge, 8. 

Barron, table of precipitation, 27. 

Brick, 12, 13, 91. 



Chelsea loams, 48. 

Chemical composition of soil, 36. 

Chetek sandy loam, 62. 

Chippewa river, 9, 22. 

Cisterns, 20. 

Clays, 12, 70. 

Classification of soil, 35. 

Climate, 23. 

■Contamination of wells and springs, 19, 

20. 
Correlation of soils, 98. 
■Creameries, 81. 
Crops, 92. 

rotation of, 41, 42, 76. 
Crystalline rocks, 3, 8, 12, 44. 
Cushing loams, 55. 



Dairying, 41, 44, 50, 52, 54, 56, 64, 

71, 94. 
Dairy products, 76, 81. 
Dairy statistics, table of, 95. 
Ditches, 83, 84, £5. 
Downing, table of precipitation, 27. 
Drainage, 37, 38, 39, 40, 83, 84. 
Drain tile, 13. 
Drift, see glacial drift. 



Eau Claire, table of precipitation, 

30. 
Eau Claire river, 9. 
Eau Galle river, 10. 
Elk Mound, 8. 
Erosion, 34, 75. , 



Falls, 11. 

Farm buildings, 91. 

Fertilizers for special crops, 62. 

Flambeau Ridge, 3, 8. 

Flambeau River, 22. 

Flowing wells, 16. 

Forests, 38, 43, 45, 49, 51, 54, 55, 58, 

63, 65, 68, 74, 79, 97. 
Fossils, 4, 5. 
Frosts, 31, 32, 3.3. 
Fruit, 81, 96. 



Glacial drift, 2, 5, 15, 44, 49, 51, 98. 
Granite, 13, 98. 

Grantsburg, table of precipitation, 26. 
Groundwater, 13, 68. 

changes in level, 14. 
Gullying, 75. 



Hartland silt loam, 73. 
Hay, 94. 
Hills, S. 

Kennan silt loam, 45. 
Lakes, 11. 

origin of, 12. 
Lake Pepin, 12. 
Land values, 43, 45, 48, 51, 53, 55, 57, 

62, 64, 67, 71, 78, 91. 
Latitude of area, 1. 
Lime, 12. 
Limestone, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 37, 38, 41, 

72. 

ground limestone, 41. 

origin of, 5. 
Live stock, 64, 77, 96. 



102 



INDEX. 



Loess, 2, 7, 73, 75, 99. 
Longitude of area, 1. 
Lower Magnesian, 4, 39. 

Markets, 96. 

Meridean sandy loam, 65. 
Milltown loam, 51. 
Mineral supplies, 12. 
Mineral water, 14. 
Mississippi river, 10. 
Muck, 81. 

Nativity of population, 90. 

Osceola, table of precipitation, 26, 30. 

Peat, 37, 81. 

Phosphate fertilizer, 41, 60, 66, 72, 81, 

86. 
Pollution of water, 18. 
Population of area, 89. 

of cities, 97. 
Potash fertilizer, 86. 
Potatoes, 93. 
Potsdam sandstone, 4, 8. 
Prairie, 39, 42, 76. 
Prairie soil, 39. 
Precipitation, 26, 29. 

tables of, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. 
Price of farm lands, 91. 

Quartzite, 1, 3, 48. 

Railroads, 88, 96. 

table of altitudes of, 21. 
Rainfall, 29, 32. 
Rapids, 11. 

Red Cedar river, 9, 22. 
Rice lake loam, 58. 
Rivers, 9. 

origin of, 10. 
Road material, 13. 
Rotation of crops, 41, 42, 76. 



Sandstone, 4, 12, 15, 79, 99. 

origin of, 4. 
Sandy soils, management of, 71, 73'. 
Settlements, 88. 
Sheep, 41. 
Silos, 91. 
Soils, area of, 36. 

character of, 34. 

chemical composition of, 36. 

classification of, 35. 

correlation of, 98. 

erosion of, 80. 

origin of, 34. 
Special crops, 61, 64, 66, 70, 78:. 
Springs, 17, 18. 

polution of, 18. 
St. Croix river, 10, 22. 
Sterling sand, 67. 
Stock raising, 53, 56. 
St. Peter sandstone, 4. 



Temperature of seasons, 23, 24, 25, 30t 
Terminal moraine, 8. 

origin of, 9. 
Terraces, 3, 7. 
Thornapple sandy loam, 53. 
Tile drainage, 40, 47, 59, 76. 
Transportation, 89, 96. 
Trap rock, 13, 49. 
Trenton limestone, 4, 39. 



Valleys, 9. 
origin of, 10. 



Water powers, 10. 
Water supplies, 13. 

character of, 14. 

pollution of, 18, 19, 20. 
Weather Bureau stations, 23.. 
Wells, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20. 

artesian, 16. 
Wood ashes, 86. 



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